Learning Curve
by rebelrsr
Summary: Seems Faith discovered more about Buffy than anyone realized during the body switch.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: All things Buffy belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and lots of people in expensive suits. I'm not making any money here, just trying to create a happier Buffyverse for my favorite characters.

Spoilers, etc.: Adheres to Buffy canon up to "Who Are You?" Spoilers for S4 after (and including) "This Year's Girl" and the AtS episode "Sanctuary." Many thanks to my beta crew: Desirata41, Zigpal, and Zenither. Couldn't do it without you guys.

Archiving:Please ask first.

Feedback: I love it – even the flamey stuff.

Willow opened the door with her shoulder, balancing her backpack and a stack of books in her arms. Staggering under the weight, she managed to drop everything into a more or less neat pile on the desk just inside her dorm room. She turned back to the door, flicked on the overhead light, and closed the door with a sigh. _Today_ she thought _was so not a good day_. Ignoring her body's need for sleep, Willow was already making a mental list of the information she needed to track down for Giles. She turned back toward the desk rubbing tired eyes – and gave a short shriek at the husky "Hey, Red" that greeted her.

Sitting motionless against the far wall was Faith. Her hands were raised in what Willow supposed _should_ have been a show of her good intentions. Without really thinking, Willow turned and lunged for the door. _Buffy_, she thought, but she never got the door open. A body pinned her to the door. Two hands grabbed for her wrists and pulled them tight to her waist. "C'mon, Red. That's not very welcomin'." Faith's voice rasping in her ear sent Willow into a panic. Heart pounding, she started pulling at her trapped wrists, throwing her body against the Rogue Slayer behind her. Faith just laughed. _Duh_, Willow's mind commented, _she is a Slayer. I need a spell. What was that spell Tara mentioned? The fireball thingy…I know. It was in Latin – no, Sumerian – no, Latin. If I can just_ – her internal babbling was interrupted. "Red, I'm gonna step back. Could ya' not shatter all the windows until I gotta chance to tell ya' why I'm here?"

When Willow nodded, she felt Faith's grip loosen and the warm body behind her move back a slow step. Willow had no intention of screaming. As soon as Faith let go completely, Willow turned, pointed her right hand at the Slayer, and began to chant in Latin. At the end of the invocation, she and Faith stared at each other, waiting. Nothing happened. _Damn, damn, damn. Maybe it was Sumerian._

Faith smirked. "Glad to see ya' ain't got any better at those spells." As Willow watched, Faith moved slowly to Buffy's bed and sat down. Willow noted with some satisfaction that Faith's face still showed the signs of her showdown with Buffy at the church. _Well, her showdown with herself with Buffy in residence._ "Could ya' just sit down a minute and I'll give ya' the news and split." Faith watched Willow closely to see what she would do next. When Willow just stood, staring, Faith let some of her impatience out. "Look, Red, if I'd a wanted ya' dead, do you really think you still be standin' there looking stupid?" _Come on, Red. Just let me say this and go, before B comes back._ Just the thought of meeting Buffy again, so soon after the latest fight, left Faith feeling sick.

Unfortunately for Faith, Willow wasn't just standing there looking stupid. As Faith taunted her, Willow used the time to think of the spell she wanted and find her focus. With Tara's calming voice replaying in her mind: _It's h-hard to explain, Willow. You just have to know that you can do it._ And, watching Faith's smirk and absorbing her thoughts on Willow's life expectancy, Willow knew that this spell would work. Raising both arms, palms up and pointed at Faith, Willow chanted. A warmth surrounded her and she felt a rush of power, centering on her outstretch hands. As Faith started to look uneasy and move off the bed, Willow finished her casting and invisible bonds grabbed the slayer, throwing her back onto the bed, binding her body with enough strength that even Faith's Slayer-enhanced struggles couldn't break free. "Hey, it worked!" Watching Faith struggle to get free, Willow nearly began her own version of the Snoopy dance in her glee. A knock at the door, though, interrupted the frantic activities of both girls.

Two pairs of eyes stared at the door.

_Damn, please don't let that be B, _Faith thought.

_Geez, how am I going to hide the body? _Willow thought, glancing away from the door to the now motionless Slayer bound to Buffy's bed.

Now, Willow and Faith stared at each other.

Another knock sounded, followed by a quiet voice, "Willow? It's me. Are you there?" _Tara_, Willow thought. _Oh, good. I don't have to worry about hiding Faith. Maybe she can help me figure out what to do with Faith until Buffy gets back. Ooh, and I can't wait to tell her about the spell working. Well, the second spell. I mean…_

"Red, you gonna let your girl in or what? I mean, if you don't think she'll be jealous of us being alone together."

Faith's mocking tone startled Willow into motion, and she leaped over to the door. Wrenching it open, Willow blocked the view into the room by standing in the opening. Tara stood in the hallway, hand over her heart, shocked by the unexpectedly enthusiastic opening. "Tara, hey, how are you?" Willow was grinning widely and bouncing a little on her toes.

The grin was so endearing that Tara found herself responding with a smile of her own. "Fine. I w-was w-wondering if you wanted to go to the Espresso Pump?" Willow already looked as if she had had too many mochas, though. She was flushed and still bouncing in the doorway. A closer look showed the smile to be almost manic. "Um, W-Wil, is everything OK?" Tara reached out and lightly brushed her hand along the arm resting against the door jamb. "Can I come in?"

"Sure! Um, well, there is just one little thing…" Willow's voice trailed off as she moved scant inches back into the room to let Tara squeeze inside. "Someone was waiting for me when I came home and—" her voice trailed off as Tara stopped abruptly, staring in horror at the Slayer sprawled in apparent comfort on Buffy's bed.

The horror was quickly replaced with embarrassment when Faith made one of her trademark comments. "Come on in, Blondie. Didn't know Red had plans to give me a floor show, but I think watchin' the two of you would be wicked cool." Faith laughed with real humor at the red that stained the two witches. "Like I said, Blondie, it's a real shock that Red ain't drivin' stick no more. You been showin' her how to find the ignition switch on your automatic?"

"Wha-What's sh-she d-doing here?" Tara blushed even more, remembering Faith's previous reaction to her stutter. The only thing that kept her from rushing back out of the room was Willow's form pressed tightly against her back.

Willow, too, heard the increased stutter in Tara's speech. Her giddiness dissipated and in its place was an almost overwhelming exhaustion. "I don't know. She was here when I got back." Willow stepped around Tara to stand at Faith's side. Looking down at her captive, she continued. "Strangely, she hasn't done much. Well, other than her usual 'gotta talk about sex all the time' statements. Of course," a brief surge of the earlier euphoria returned, "she can't go anywhere right now. I have her bound."

"Yeah, about that, Red. Could ya' maybe let me loose? I mean, although bein' in B's bed's gotta be at the top of my fantasy list, I got places to be." Faith hoped the witches missed the slight shake in her voice. _Damn, I need to get outta here. Trouble always happens when I try to do the right thing. _

Willow missed the shaking in Faith's voice but not the innuendo. Rage moved her even closer to the bed and provided strength to the blow that sent the Slayer's head rebounding in the opposite direction. The sharp sound of the impact was followed by total silence. Willow could feel Tara staring at her. The anger that had motivated the blow drained away leaving her shaking and sick at her own actions. Willow turned away from the bound Slayer and her shocked friend, but Faith's voice followed her.

"Well, you did say you wanted to be alone with me so you could kick my ass. Of course, you needed to be bigger and stronger first. Feelin' stronger now, Red?" Faith's voice was flat, the mocking edge gone. "Tell ya' what. Let me give you the info I got, and then ya' can let me go or finish what ya' started. Don't make much difference anymore."

Willow slowly turned back around and walked over to Tara. Taking her hand, she pulled the unresisting girl to the other bed in the room and sat them down. She kept a firm grip on Tara's hand even after sitting, trying to borrow a little of Tara's usual calm. "What exactly did you need to tell us, Faith? I don't think I'm up for any more stories of your sexcapades."

"You're in luck then. Only been one romp since wakin' up. I think I'll leave the tellin' up to B." Faith took a deep breath before continuing. "Think you need to spend a little best friend time with B, Red. She ain't herself right now."

"No, really? And whose fault is that, Faith?" Willow could feel the anger again, simmering just below the surface of her control.

Tara wrapped her free arm around Willow, murmuring softly "Shh, baby. You need to listen to her. Whatever she's saying right now, she really believes it's important." She ducked her head, looking into Willow's eyes. "Please. Just listen." Feeling Willow relax slightly, Tara turned her gaze back to Faith. Faith's aura, just like that night in the Bronze, was full of sharp edges. This time, though, the black and red of despair and anger flickered and pulsed. Faith was on the edge of collapse; eight months in a coma and the events of the last few days sapping even her Slayer stamina. "Go ahead, Faith. We're l-listening."

Tara and Willow watched as Faith nodded slightly – the only movement allowed within the bonds of Willow's spell. "'Kay. When B I and were throwin' down in the church, I just started wailin' on her. She was pretty much down for the count." Faith paused when Willow gasped. Hearing nothing more from the witch, she went on. "Ya' gotta understand. I was in B's body. I shoulda' been winning. B's always been the better fighter." Faith's lips twisted and her voice sounded bitter. "But she wasn't really fightin' back. She was just lettin' me hit her."

Willow squirmed out of Tara's embrace and stood up. She didn't trust herself to get any closer to Faith but needed to have a better look at the Slayer when she asked, "What do you mean, she wasn't fighting back?"

Faith turned her head so she was looking right at Willow. "I mean, Red, I think she wanted me to win."

"Why? Is this just another of your twisted mind games, Faith? Make me doubt my best friend? Drive another wedge between us?" Willow's voice picked up volume as she ranted at the bound Slayer. "She fought hard enough to get away from the Council. She used the Katra sphere that Tara and I made to switch back into her own body. How do you explain that?"

"I can't, Red. All I know is that when I was yellin' at her and punchin' her, she barely struggled. Even after all the crap that's happened with us, B and me share a bond." Faith paused for a moment and Tara could see the hurt and regret in the shifting colors of her aura. Faith's voice, though, gave none of that away. "It used to be really strong. I could sometimes feel what B was feelin.' After that bitch Post showed up, things kinda' got in the way and the bond faded. But in the church, I could feel B again. It was weird. I could tell she was pissed and that part of her wanted to finish what we started on the roof before graduation. But there was somethin' else. It felt like, I dunno, like she was just too tired to care."

Willow shook her head in instinctive denial. "You're wrong. Buffy wouldn't just give up." Faith's words, though, were scaring her. Since the start of college and the appearance of Riley and Tara, she and Buffy had drifted apart. Would she even have noticed if there was something wrong?

Faith watched the emotions play across Willow's face with her thoughts. She tried shifting on the bed, but the bonds were still too strong. She couldn't stand not being able to move, and her body was letting her know that she really needed to move – soon. "Hey Red, while you're beatin' yourself up for bein' a bad Slayerette, could ya' let me up long enough to go to the bathroom? Gettin' real urgent, here."

"Tara, I don't…" Willow trailed off. She couldn't get over what Faith had said about Buffy, and didn't want to deal with the Slayer any more.

"It's OK, sweetie. Just release the bonds and I'll escort her there and back." Tara stood up and approached the prone Faith. "Just so you know, Faith, I'll have a spell ready in case you try to run. And," she looked into Faith's eyes, "I can tell what you are feeling. I'll know even before you try to run." Faith's eyes widened, and Tara saw the silvery-blue of fear join the mix of emotions surrounding Faith. Keeping an eye on the other girl, Tara chanted quietly, completing all but the final phrase of her own binding spell. She stepped back from the bed and nodded to Willow to release Faith.

At Willow's whispered command, Faith felt the invisible bonds disappear. Slowly, making sure to look as unthreatening as possible, she stood up. The time on the bed had allowed her damaged ribs to seize up and the other aches and pains to worsen. She was able to keep from gasping with the pain, but couldn't quite stand up straight. Tara's eyes met hers, and Faith could see the awareness of her pain in the witch's blue eyes. "Let's go, Blondie. Which way we headin'?"

Tara gestured for Faith to lead the way. "Left into the hallway. The bathroom's the last door on the right." As Faith slowly walked toward the door, Tara glanced back at Willow. The redhead's internal monologue was still going strong from the vacant look in her eyes. Shaking her head, Tara followed Faith out of the room. As they made their slow and careful way down the hall, Tara said, "When we get back into the room, I'll take a look at those ribs. From the way you're moving, you probably have more than a few broken."

Faith looked surprised by her comment and was starting to reply when Tara was nearly knocked over by the wave of fear, pain, and regret that exploded from the Slayer. "Fuck, B's comin'." Faith turned to look at Tara. "Blondie, I know you got no reason to trust me or help me out. But if B finds me here, I'm dead. You gotta let me get outta here."

Tara watched as Faith's attention turned toward the stairs at the end of the hallway. "Faith, you've given up just like you say Buffy has. From looking at your aura, you're just waiting for a chance to die."

"Yeah, I am, Blondie. But if B finds me here, she's gonna take me on. Even if I tried, I can't beat her. If she finishes the job she started on that roof, she'll be just like me – a killer. She's still gotta chance. With you and Red and the rest of the Scoobies, B'll be OK. It's too late for me." Faith could sense that Buffy was only seconds away from coming out of the stairwell. "Tara – "

"Go, Faith. I'll tell Willow you overpowered me." As the Slayer turned to run down the hall, Tara touched her arm. "Be careful, Faith. Remember it's never too late for those who truly want to find redemption." She wasn't sure Faith heard her. She was already moving, using all of her Slayer speed. She disappeared around the corner just as the stairwell door opened.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: All things Buffy belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and lots of people in expensive suits. I'm not making any money here, just trying to create a happier Buffyverse for my favorite characters.

Spoilers, etc.: Adheres to Buffy canon up to "Who Are You?" Spoilers for S4 after (and including) "This Year's Girl" and the AtS episode "Sanctuary." Many thanks to my beta crew: Desirata41, Zigpal, and Zenither. Couldn't do it without you guys.

Archiving:Please ask first.

Feedback: I love it – even the flamey stuff.

Tara was still gazing at the empty hallway after Faith when Buffy came out of the stairwell. _This isn't going to be easy,_ she thought. _Willow and I need to talk about this before Will confronts Buffy. _

"Tara? What are you doing standing out in the hall? Will didn't throw you out, did she?" Buffy tapped Tara's shoulder as she approached. When Tara didn't immediately reply, she continued. "Tara? You OK?"

Summoning a smile, Tara turned to face the slightly shorter Slayer. "Hey, B-Buffy. N-No, Will d-didn't throw m-me out." _Damn. If I don't calm down and lose the super stutter, it won't be Will who tips off Buffy_. "I was heading b-back from the bathroom. Were you over at Riley's?"

Tara was unprepared for Buffy's reaction to her question. For the second time in as many minutes, Tara was bombarded by wildly flaring emotions. Anger, confusion, despair, exhaustion – she staggered and grabbed her head. Buffy's swirling emotions surrounded her in a kaleidoscope of colors, stabbing her with sharp edges. Dimly, she could feel Buffy grab her as she started to sink to the floor and could hear Buffy asking if she was OK. With an amazing amount of effort, she managed to strengthen her mental shields enough to block out most of Buffy's turmoil. As the violent colors of Buffy's emotions receded, Tara was able to regain her feet, but she struggled to catch her breath and even her hair seemed to be shaking. "Tara, come on. Let me help you back to the room." Tara leaned into Buffy as the shorter girl practically carried her down the hall to the dorm room.

Willow had finally woken from her internal debate and was sprawled on her bed when Buffy and Tara came into the room. "Whoa! Bab-I mean-Buffy, what happened?" _OK, focus, Willow. This in NOT how you want to come out to your best friend._

"It's not me, Will. I found Tara in the hallway, and she almost collapsed. Help me get her to my bed." Willow obediently joined the Slayer and Tara, but wasn't sure she did much to help. Buffy, using her enhanced strength, was doing most of the work. Willow contented herself with plumping pillows and fluttering as Buffy bent over, situating the other witch on the bed. Once she had Tara as comfortable as possible, Buffy stood up, groaning slightly and trying to stretch the lingering soreness out of her muscles. "Will, can you take care of Tara for a few? I really need to shower. Whatever Faith was up to in my body wasn't all of the good." Willow looked at her with a strange, "deer in the headlights" look. "Uh, Earth to Will, you in there?" _OK, wonder what's up? First Tara goes from spacey to staggering and now Will looks like she's just seen a ghost_. "Will, come on! Can you stay focused for just a few minutes?"

Buffy's irritated tone snapped Willow out of her fugue state. "Sorry, Buffy. Sure, I can take care of Tara while you shower. Are you sure you're OK? I mean…" Willow blushed and took a deep breath to stop her babbling before it reached epic proportions. "Go ahead, Buff. We'll be fine." Buffy looked at her for a minute before grabbing a shower caddy, towel, clothes, and a robe and heading back out of the room.

"If we keep acting like this, she's going to think we're crazy." Tara's voice was a mere whisper. When her blue eyes met Willow's green ones, they both started giggling madly.

After a few minutes, the laughter died. "Tara, what happened? Did Faith hurt you? I thought you had a binding spell ready in case she gave in to her need to beat up on people."

"No, Will. She didn't hurt me. In fact, she was hurting pretty badly herself. She must have felt Buffy coming into the dorm because she panicked. Will, she begged me to let her go – said Buffy would kill her and she didn't want Buffy to be like her, a murderer." She lightly clasped the redhead's hand, stroking it slowly. "Sweetie, we need to talk about what Faith said as soon as possible." She took a deep breath before continuing. "I know you d-don't trust Faith, but I really don't think she was lying or p-playing games. She was genuinely concerned about Buffy." When Willow didn't say anything and glanced away, Tara let go of Willow's hand to reach up and grasp her chin. It took quite a bit of effort to force Willow's head up, and she had to wait several minutes for the green eyes to meet hers. "We can't brush this off or rush in too quickly. What do you think Buffy would do if you ju-just confronted her with what Faith said?"

Willow looked at Tara for a while before answering. "She'd be all Denial Gal and get really defensive. Oh, and she'd probably storm out of here and go to Riley's and we wouldn't see her for –" Willow nearly whimpered at the second outbreak of Willowbabble in the same day. "Sorry, Tara. I really thought the babble problem was over. OK, I see your point. Confronting Buffy is a bad idea. Do you have a better plan in that beautiful head of yours?"

Tara let go of Willow's chin to caress her cheek. "You're the beautiful one, baby." She stopped, chewing her lip as she thought. "Do you think you could get Buffy to spend some Best Friend Time with you tonight? Movies and chocolate and girl talk?" At Willow's hesitant nod, Tara went on. "Don't push for anything. Just be here if she wants to talk. I think I'm going to go talk with Mr. Giles."

"Tara, I don't think that's a good idea. I mean, Faith is- well evil! I know you think she was telling the truth, but…"

"Willow!" The redhead looked up in shock at the sharp tone. "You can't read auras. You don't understand what I saw. She – was – not – lying." Tara sat up on the bed and swung her feet over the side. Standing, she noted only a little remaining dizziness and a throbbing headache. "I'm going to Mr. Giles.' I'll talk with him about Faith and Buffy. Maybe he'll be able to help us decide how to approach Buffy and find out what's going on with her." She moved away from the stunned redhead and stood for a moment in the middle of the room. The next time she spoke, she sounded more like the shy, hesitant girl Willow was used to. "I'm sor-sorry, Willow. But I d-don't think you ca-can be objective about Faith. I get that. But we have to help Buffy before she finds a way to get killed – and with Adam on the loose, that won't be too hard." She walked to the door and opened it. Before leaving the room entirely, she faced Willow again. "If Buffy asks, tell her I went back to my room because I wasn't feeling well. It's not entirely a lie." Dropping her head and letting her hair hide her face, Tara quietly closed the door.

Tara's thoughts were troubled as she walked across the UC-Sunnydale campus. She regretted getting upset with Willow. _After all, I might be less than forgiving if I had been held at knifepoint_. But Tara couldn't get past the fact that her friend –girlfriend?- hadn't trusted her when she said Faith was telling the truth. She was worried about all of the Scoobies. Just in the short time she had known them, she could sense their internal struggles and their emotional uncertainties. If only Willow didn't want to squirrel her away like a prize acorn, then she might have seen Buffy's downward spiral before it reached a critical state. Wrapping her arms tightly around herself, Tara fought back a sob. _I really thought Willow loved me. I'm pretty sure she thinks she loves me. But I'm more like a trophy – put away in a display case to take out and look at, maybe show off occasionally. Why can't she see that I want to be a part of everything_? Shaking her head at her depressing thoughts, Tara tried to bring her mind back to the immediate problems, namely Faith and Adam.

By the time she had climbed the steps to Giles' door and knocked, she was no closer to a plan of action. After a short wait, Giles opened the door and stared in bemusement at the nervous girl. "Um, hello, ah, Tara?" Giles relaxed slightly when she nodded. "Can I help you with something? Where's Willow?"

Tara fought to stave off the stutter she knew was coming. Consciously slowing her speech and controlling her breathing, she said, "Mr. Giles, could I come in? There are some things w-we need to ta-talk about." Seeing the older man hesitate, she continued, "It's about Faith." Giles' eyes widened at that and he stepped back into the doorway, giving Tara room to step in to the small vestibule.

Once she was inside, Giles closed the door and walked toward the small kitchen area on the right. Tara moved hesitantly forward to the table and living room the Scoobies used for their meetings. All the blinds were closed and the apartment had a dark, oppressive feel. "Would you like something to drink, my dear?" Tara shook her head at the offer, but looked closely at her host as he poured himself a healthy drink of what Tara suspected was scotch. Glass in hand, Giles came out of the kitchen and moved into the living area, sitting in his recliner. "Please, make yourself at home. Now, have you and Willow found something out about Faith?"

Tara bought a few more minutes to get her thoughts in order by wandering over to sit on the sofa across from Giles. "Faith was waiting for Willow when she got in this afternoon."

"Good Lord. Is she hurt?"

"No-No, Mr. Giles. She's fine." Tara was quick to reassure him. "Willow was able to bind her with a spell." Despite her ambivalence about her relationship with the novice witch, Tara's voice held a note of pride for that accomplishment. "Mr. Giles, I don't really know the whole story about Faith. Willow explained some of it after Faith woke from her coma, but… Could you tell me a little bit about what happened when Faith came to Sunnydale?" Seeing that Giles wanted to object, Tara said, "Faith was there to pass on some information she got while in Buffy's body. I just need a little background to help me make sense of it."

Giles leaned forward in the chair. "Tara, Faith is very good at playing mind games. Are you sure she isn't just trying to trick us all?"

"Willow was afraid of that, too." Tara rubbed her right temple with a hand that shook slightly. The throbbing headache was getting worse. _I really need to get this done before I can't get it done_. "Mr. Giles, I know that Willow hasn't told you or any of the Scoobies much about me." The admission hurt more than the headache. "I am an hereditary witch. Unlike Willow, I didn't have to learn the Craft from books and experimentation. My mother taught me about magic from the time I was little. One of the skills I developed was reading a person's aura."

"Ah. So you would know, then, if Faith was lying." He sat back in his chair, chewing thoughtfully on the earpiece of his glasses. "I'm sorry for questioning you. But Faith can be frightfully adept at subterfuge."

Tara almost grinned at what Willow called "Watcher-speak." "I-It's OK, Mr. Giles. Why does everyone automatically think evil when Faith is mentioned?"

"I don't know what information you got from Willow." He sighed. "And, I'm not sure that Willow can be counted on to present an unbiased account of what happened last year. Faith came to Sunnydale at the end of the summer preceding the children's last year of high school." Tara listened intently as Giles highlighted Faith's appearance outside the Bronze, the debacle with Gwendolyn Post and Angel's return from Hell, and the accidental staking of Deputy Mayor Allan Finch.

Tara stopped Giles there to ask, "What was the gang's response to his death?"

"Well, I um…" Giles removed his glasses and began to clean the lenses with a handkerchief. "Looking back on it, I think everyone was confident that Faith hadn't intended to kill Mr. Finch."

"Yes, but if Buffy had accidentally killed someone, you'd all be gathered around trying to keep her spirits up and coming up with ways to help her deal with it. Did anyone do that for Faith?"

Giles stood up and walked back into the kitchen. Tara turned to watch him. "Yes, as a matter of fact, we did. But, in retrospect, I fear our efforts were an example of too little, too late. Buffy and Faith hid their involvement at first. And, by the time either of them thought to tell me what happened, Faith was in full denial." Giles shook his head at the memory. "None of us really knew how to approach Faith. I, for one, found her – ah – predilection for provoking comments difficult to handle. Willow and Xander mistrusted her." He gave a small, embarrassed laugh.

"That's OK, Mr. Giles. I know what happened between Faith and Xander, and I know Willow kind of went on an anti-Faith kick after that." Tara spoke to relieve the uncomfortable ex-Watcher.

"All that aside, I don't think we ever really made an effort to get to know the girl behind the attitude. Out of all of us, Buffy was really the only one to see the emotions Faith was hiding. Unfortunately, after Mr. Finch died, Buffy was too entangled in the events to get close to Faith. Angel, I think, had started to get her to face her actions when that ponce Wesley and the Council team showed up. To be honest, my dear, we all made a right bollocks of the situation."

"Well, that's not quite how Willow remembers things, but it gives me something to work with. Mr. Giles, when I saw Faith today, I saw someone who was on the brink of collapse. Her emotions were fractured and sharp." Seeing Giles' confusion, she backtracked. "When I look at someone, even casually, I get a sense of what they are feeling. It's just surface; I can see a faint glow around their body and the color represents an emotion. For most people, I see one solid color with maybe a tinge of another at the very edges of the aura. The glow looks like a stable force-field. There are no edges; no beginning or end to the color." Tara paused. "Is this making any sense?"

"Yes, my dear. I've done a bit of work with some of the covens in the area around the Council's Headquarters." He grinned slightly. "Your explanation is vastly superior to the –ah- more mystical babble I got from the High Priestess in Devonshire."

Tara smiled shyly back. "When I talked with Faith in the Bronze, her aura didn't fit in Buffy's body. That's what made me think it wasn't Buffy. This afternoon, the aura fit, but it was spikey and almost rainbow colored. There were so many emotions roiling around that it hurt to look at it. But," Tara forced herself to look up and directly at Giles, "at no time did I sense that she was lying. That's why I thought it was important to talk with you." She shrugged. "Willow didn't believe me – or Faith. Mr. Giles, Faith said that she didn't think Buffy was really trying to win their fight at the church. Faith said she could feel Buffy through their Slayer bond and that Buffy's given up. She wants to die, Mr. Giles."

Despite the serious nature of their talk, Tara had to fight a laugh at Giles' "Bloody hell."


	3. Chapter 3

Buffy clattered back into the room feeling physically, if not emotionally, better after the shower. It was strange; this was her body, but it hadn't felt right since she had reclaimed it from Faith. Not counting the unexplainable bruises and muscle aches, Buffy felt wrong in her own skin. Glancing up as she went to put her things in the closet, she noticed Tara was missing and Willow was in her usual place on her bed, tapping away at her laptop, socked feet waving in the air. "Tara go home?" she asked.

"Yeah. She –um- said she wasn't feeling well," Willow replied, glancing up from whatever she was researching. She pressed a few keys before closing her laptop. "Feel any better after the shower?" She asked, rolling on to her side, watching Buffy intently.

When Buffy just shrugged, Willow took Tara's advice. "Hey, I'm plan free this evening. It's been a really long time since we spent any quality best friend time together. Whataya say we rent a couple of mindless movies and imbibe lots of pizza and chocolate?" Willow cocked her head to the side and watched Buffy's expression closely. Shamelessly resorting to her best puppy-dog look, she glanced at her friend through long lashes and began begging in a sing-song voice, "Please?"

"Ooh, no fair with the puppy-dog eyes, Will." Buffy whined. Willow upped the ante and stuck out her lip in her best pout. "Aagh! Stop! No more! OK. Best friend movie night, pizza and chocolate and gossip. Just please, stop with the look."

Willow laughed. "Poor Slayer. Did the wicked witch torture you?" She rolled off the bed and launched herself at her blonde roommate. Thanks to Slayer reflexes, Buffy caught the red-haired bundle and wrapped her arms tight around Buffy. Willow whispered, "I've really missed 'us time.'" Blushing slightly, she stepped back. "Mocha, muffin, and movie run? Then we can order the main course when we get back?"

"Only if you promise not to make me watch any foreign films with subtitles. Only movies with words in English!" At Willow's grumpy nod of agreement, Buffy grinned. "OK, then. Let's get moving. We can do a quick patrol on our way out." She pulled a jacket out of the closet and dug around in the weapons trunk for a couple of stakes and a long knife. "You got your safety kit?"

"Yep." Willow indicated the satchel slung over her shoulder. "All the latest in personal protection: holy water, crosses, a couple of lighters, and a super-sized bottle of hairspray."

"You're going to give them cosmetology lessons before you stake them?"

Willow smacked the Slayer on the arm. "Yeah, like that would be helpful. Spray a little hairspray and use a lighter. Boom! Instant flamethrower. Of course," she grinned, "thanks to Tara, I can do fireballs without the props. Well, OK, the one time I tried it didn't work, but I think that was because I used the wrong language. Next time, I'll try the invocation in Sumerian instead of Latin."

"You and Tara been patrolling without me?" Buffy asked in shock.

Willow looked at Buffy in confusion as they exited Stephenson Hall. "Oh, no. Where did you get that idea? I mean, my spells are better, but… and Tara, well, not really big with the violence."

"Will, you just said you tried a fireball spell. I kinda figured you were aiming at a vamp." She grabbed Willow's hand, swinging their arms as they walked. "If you weren't trying to dust a vamp, what were you aiming at?"

_Normally_, Willow thought, _this is where I would blush. But I'm pretty sure there is zero color in my face right now – could even be considered a non-color. Uh, oh. Buffy's looking at me. How long ago did she ask me that? Frilly heck._ Mustering a smile, she said, "Oh, you know, nothing really…just imagined I was fighting something really bad – like, um, Faith. Right, Faith! You know, what if she, like showed up in the dorm room and I was all alone and needed to, um, defend myself. Then a fireball would be really useful. Just, you know, Faith really scares me and I got the language for the spell wrong, so I had to, you know, try something else, and I…"

"Will, breathe! My God, what happened to suave Willow2000? You haven't done the Willowbabble thing so bad since my first year at ol' Hellmouth High." Seeing her friend's frown, she was quick to reassure. "Not that it's bad. I just noticed you've been kinda on verbal overdrive today. Everything OK in Willowland? New guy I don't know about?"

Willow barely refrained from whimpering. First, she nearly gave away the whole "Faith visitation" and now Buffy wanted to talk about her love life. _Really gotta change the subject. Tara said to get Buffy talking, so…_"Hey, no fair making this all about me! Have you talked to your mom since the kidnapping?"

Buffy laughed. "'Kay, Will. Sensing you don't want to tell me about your new squeeze with the big subject change and all. Just to let you know, we will be revisiting the topic again tonight. But, yeah, Mom and I spent a few minutes together after the showdown with Faith. She's doing OK. It was a little freaky. I had to actually convince her it was me and not Psycho Slayer inside." Buffy's mood darkened. "We're not really communicating very well at the moment. Reminds me of when I was still hiding the Slayer gig."

By now, they had reached the largest of Sunnydale's cemeteries. Both girls were momentarily silent. "How is your mom handling the whole kidnapped by a killer deal?"

Buffy shrugged. "Not really sure. She said she was fine, and other than the large bruise on her chin, Faith didn't hurt her. I just feel bad that I didn't find Faith before she got to Mom."

"But you did get there!"

"Almost too late, Will. Mom was all tied up in her bed and that bitch was getting ready to kill her. Before I went through the window, I heard her tell Mom not to count on me. She had the gall to say I didn't care about her anymore, especially since I was a 'college girl' now." Buffy stopped and looked at her companion. "You don't really think Mom believed her, do you, Will?"

Willow looked back at her in amazement. Surely, Buffy didn't think her mom would take the word of a serial killer in the making? She stepped closer to Buffy and put on her best "resolve face." "Buffy Anne Summers, don't you dare think like that. Your mom knows that college and saving the world on a nightly basis take time."

Buffy dropped her head, studying the coral-painted toenails peeking out of her open-toed shoes. "I just feel – look out!" Buffy shoved Willow to the left with one hand while pulling out a stake with the other. She faced the two vampires, waiting for one of them to attack. "You OK, Will?" she called out.

"Oh, sure, Buffy. Just shaking off the cemetery dirt. Kinda forgot your own strength there, Slayer." Willow jumped up to sit on top of a headstone and watched the show.

The two hapless vamps listened to this exchange in confusion. Hearing Willow call Buffy the Slayer, though, prodded them into action. Both shifted into game face and charged. Buffy leaped into the air, somersaulting over her opponents. When she landed, she quickly kicked one in the back. Willow winced at the sound of breaking bones. With a growl, the vampire dropped to the ground, and Buffy faced his "friend."

"Hey, boys. Out for a little romantic walk in the moonlight?" She smiled. "It's a nice night for it."

The unwounded vampire ran a tongue along his fangs before replying. "I've heard that once you've tasted a Slayer, you never want to go back to normal humans."

"Hello. Don't you guys have any new lines?" Buffy asked, disgust in her voice. She sidestepped the vampire's rush and staked him in the back. A second later, his ashes dropped to the ground. "One down, well OK, two down…" She dragged the vampire she had kicked back to his feet. "Anything you want to say before I stake you?" When the vampire just snarled and twisted in her grasp, Buffy shrugged. "OK, then." A quick thrust with the stake, and the two girls were once again alone in the cemetery. "Well, that was certainly dull." She waited for Willow to rejoin her. "If I had a nickel for every time a vamp said that thing about tasting a Slayer, I wouldn't need to worry about getting a job after college."

Willow giggled. "Maybe I could do some research on pick-up lines and we could make a flyer and post it around the cemeteries. You know, title it 'The Top 100 Ways to Impress the Slayer.'" She linked arms with Buffy and they continued their walk.

Willow lay with her head pillowed on Buffy's thigh. On the TV, Terry Hatcher and Pierce Brosnan verbally fenced in their evening wear. _Huh, I wonder if it's an English thing to wear formals when you save the world_? She shifted and looked up at Buffy. After their lighthearted banter on the way to pick up Movie Night necessities, they hadn't really talked about anything Willow considered to be important. Maybe it was time to push – just a little. "Hey, Buffy?"

Buffy yawned and stretched before answering, "Yeah, Will."

"You, um, we, ah haven't really talked about what happened when you were in Faith's body. Kinda' wondered, did you still feel like you, or did you have homicidal tendencies, too?" Willow felt Buffy tense beneath her.

"No, Will. No thoughts of gutting those around me. It was me, my thoughts, with Faith's body. Although," Buffy looked thoughtful, "I have to say it didn't really bother me to beat up on the Council guys. Man, one of them even spit on me."

"He what?!" Willow's voice squeaked. "Why- Why would he do that?"

Buffy shrugged. "He thought I was Faith, remember? Made some comment about me/her being worthless or trash. To prove his point, he spit." She stroked a hand through Willow's hair. "The whole thing was disturbing – and not just the trapped in a crazy girl's body kinda way. People looked at me differently. I mean, when I first got to Giles' place, he looked petrified. The Council goons saw me as some sort of whore. The only person who didn't automatically disapprove was Riley when I hugged him at the church. He just kept trying to fend me off and he called me 'Miss.' Must be a military thing."

Willow started giggling. "Did you hear Giles when the cop told us we couldn't be there?"

"Not really. I was too focused on finding a way into the church." Buffy smiled as Willow went off into gales of laughter again.

"If you ever need blackmail material, just start waving your arms and shout 'Good God, man!' a few times. I bet that English reserve will crack right away." Willow grabbed Buffy's hand, which had been resting on the floor near her side. "So, Tara and I are looking for spells to help with Adam. She's really strong, Buffy. Way stronger than me and she knows a ton of stuff about magic. Has Riley been able to get you any more information on the Initiative's plans or files on Adam?"

Buffy shifted out from underneath Willow. "No, we haven't really talked about Adam. I've been pretty focused on finding Faith and everything." Buffy wandered around the room, picking up the pizza remains and the clutter from their chocolate bingeing earlier.

_Ah, must have finally hit a nerve. Avoidance Buffy is in the room_. "So if you haven't been discussing our resident Dr. Frankenstein's monster, have you been doing a lot of relationship-type things? Come on! This is me. Remember, it's part of the Best Friend's Rules, you have to spill all the good details about your latest amour." Willow watched as Buffy stopped moving around the room. "So, spill, my friend, spill. I need a life even if it is a vicarious one."

Willow got a tad bit nervous when Buffy walked over and just stood next to her, looming, with a truly evil grin. "Oh, no, Will. First, we're going to talk about the new man in your life. The one you avoided talking about earlier tonight."

Nervousness paled next to the panicked feeling she had now. Willow sat up quickly, buying some time and taking away Buffy's unobstructed view of her expression. "Nope. No man here." _And that's part of the problem_. "I am man-free. No manly love interest since Oz pulled his disappearing act." _Shut UP, Willow. Even Xander could pick up these clues_. _Now. Let's get back to what had you so freaked out, my friend_. "So, now that we know I am not mooning over a new man, how about the details of you and Riley? Sit down right here," Willow patted the floor next to her, "put your head on my shoulder, snuggle in, and tell all."

Buffy hesitated and Willow reluctantly used her "resolve face" for the second time that day. Reluctantly because she feared overuse would ruin its effectiveness. Buffy shuffled around a little but finally caved and sat down. Willow had to strain to hear when Buffy started talking. "I'm not sure there is a Riley and me saga anymore, Will. He told me today that he slept with her, with Faith."

Willow was stunned. "He slept with Faith? When did he meet her? At the church today, you said he kept pushing you, um, her away and calling you 'Miss.' Did the drugs the Initiative kept feeding him mess up his memory or something?"

"No, Will." Buffy's laugh was sad. "He slept with Faith, while she was in my body."


	4. Chapter 4

Silence followed Buffy's statement. "'Kay. Not wanting to sound insensitive, but I don't understand."

"He didn't notice, Will. Riley slept with that evil, whoring bitch and he couldn't even tell that it wasn't me!" Buffy was almost shouting at the end.

Willow pulled Buffy a little closer and rested her cheek on the top of Buffy's head. Faith's voice rang in her head, "Only been one romp since wakin' up…" "Oh, Goddess, Buffy, I am so sorry. That's..that's, well, terrible." _Way to go, Willow. That's sure to make her feel better_. "Did you talk to him about it?"

"Not really. I mean, I was in shock, you know? And then I got mad. How could he not know it wasn't me?"

"Um, Buffy? Faith made a pretty good you." Feeling Buffy stiffen, she hurried on, "She knew just what to say. OK, thinking back, she was still using her street talk and everything, but she sounded just like you. She even told me she would make sure you – I mean, Faith/you – never hurt me. Admit it, that's what you would say, too, if I was afraid of something." _I can't believe I'm defending her!_

"But, Will, he slept with her. It's not like they were just discussing the weather."

_We're not letting go of this one any time soon_. "So, you gonna keep seeing him?"

"I don't know, Will." Buffy's voice was low. "It's just one more thing… I've been thinking a lot, lately, about my life. All I really have or do ends up centering on being the Slayer. I can't remember a time when I could just be me." She pulled away from Willow. "For a while, being in college helped. I didn't have to see Giles every day; I didn't spend most of my waking hours in the library researching or training, and I set my own patrol schedule."

Willow sat, listening in horror. It was too dark in the room to see her friend clearly, but Buffy's emotions were easy enough to read in her voice. She sounded tired, defeated.

"Then Riley came along and things got even better. God, he was everything I wanted in a boyfriend. And," she smiled slightly and took Willow's hand, "he didn't know anything about vampires or demons."

"Then just in time to interrupt your happiness, the Intitiative," Willow finished. "But, Buffy, Riley knowing about your being the Slayer is a good thing. You don't have to lie about patrolling or sneak out like you did when you first moved to Sunnydale."

Buffy didn't say anything for a minute, concentrating on their joined hands. "Not lying is of the good. Riley's kinda like my mom, though, when it comes to Slaying. He doesn't get that it's not a job, that I can't just quit if I want." She paused and almost braced herself before continuing. "I want to quit, Will. I am so tired. Tired of being responsible for finding a way to defeat every Big Bad coming out of the Hellmouth. Tired of pretending I can be like every other college student at UCS. Tired of finding something that makes me happy only to lose it because of a curse or a body swap. I think the last time I was really happy was the night I slept with Angel. I wasn't thinking ahead or worrying about any new evil. It was just me, Angel, and our love for each other."

Willow could feel her friend shuddering, and her next words were triggered by a strangled sob. "My happiest moment, Will. Look how well that turned out."

Turning slightly, Willow pulled Buffy into her arms. Buffy clung to her, sobbing. "Shh, Buffy. It'll be OK." _Will it? I've never seen her like this – not even before she fought the Master_. "You don't have to deal with everything alone. Xander, Giles, and I will always be with you. Let us help you." Willow was near tears herself. Finally, Buffy's sobs slowed down and Willow could feel her relax in her arms. "Come on. Let's get you into bed."

The two girls climbed to their feet and Willow helped put the smaller blonde into bed. To Buffy's surprise, the redhead climbed into bed next to her and pulled her into her arms again. "Snuggle in, best friend. For once, let me be there to hold you, OK?"

Tara managed to contain her humor. "Mr. Giles, what do you –"She stopped, noticing his attention was focused on something behind her. She sat up when Giles stood.

"Spike, what on Earth are you doing here?"

The vampire ignored the question and walked into the kitchen, opening the refrigerator. After a little rummaging, he stood up, blood bag in hand. "I thought I'd left one in here," he said triumphantly. "Sorry, to interrupt, Rupert. Is this your latest bird?" He leered at Tara before biting into the bag and ripping it open. He watched the two humans closely as he poured the contents of the bag into a bright yellow coffee mug and placed it in the microwave. "I need you to get a message to the Slayer for me, Rupert."

When Giles and Tara just looked at him, he continued. "Look, mate, what if I told you that I thought there were files and such about Adam still in the Initiative?"

"I'd say that I might wonder if this was a case of you having just what we needed at just the right time," Giles replied, sarcastically. "And, I might ask, what's in it for you?"

Spike took a sip from his mug. "Well, I was imagining the undying gratitude from the Slayer, but boatloads of cash sound fantastic, too." Noticing Giles and Tara sharing a look, Spike frowned. "Can you let the Slayer know, then?"

"I don't see much of Buffy these days, Spike." Giles sounded as if that bothered him. "It's not like I'm her Watcher anymore."

Spike smirked slightly and finished off the blood in his mug. Placing the mug, unwashed, in the kitchen sink, he started for the door. "You're right, mate. Seems your little Slayer's set out on her own. I've seen the way she treats you…very much like a retired librarian." Spike paused at the door. "I'll stop in tomorrow, and see if you're all willing to deal for my goodies." He slipped out the door, leaving a stunned ex-Watcher and witch behind.

Tara settled back into the couch. "Do you think he's really got any information, Mr. Giles?"

Giles shook his head and shrugged. "Spike's motivation is a mystery. He could, but it's more likely a diversion or a way to get closer to the group." He sat back down. "With the behavior modification chip in his head, he can't directly harm a human. That does not, however, mean that he is harmless. He has been useful in the past, though." He gave Tara a half-smile. "In other words, my dear, I have no idea if his information is useful. Were you not able to pick anything up?"

"No. Once the soul departs the body, there is no aura to read." They shared an unhappy look. "I should probably be going. Willow is with Buffy right now. Hopefully, she can get her to talk about what's wrong. Is there anything you think we can do to help?"

"Unfortunately, until – or if – Buffy decides to share her thoughts with us, there is very little we can do. Willow will have the best chance, I think, to help." He sighed, rubbing his hand down the back of his neck. "As harsh as it may sound, Buffy's emotional turmoil may have to take a back seat to Adam. Do you mind letting everyone know to meet here tomorrow, say one o'clock?"

"Of course not, Mr. Giles. Maybe Willow and I could stop by a little early to talk about Buffy?"

_Wow! Did someone turn up the heat in here_? Willow thought sleepily. She sluggishly moved her arms to get rid of the confining blankets, but they were wrapped around her – _Oh, my Goddess._ Eyes opening wide, Willow realized she wasn't tangled in her sheets. She was being spooned by a Slayer. Buffy's arm around her waist kept her immobilized. Stifling a groan at the thought of Buffy's reaction to their proximity, Willow began subtly wiggling in an attempt to gain her freedom. Several minutes later, the arm was still there, but the novice witch had managed to shift from her side to her back.

Resigning herself to dealing with an embarrassed Slayer, Willow settled in for a little Buffy-watching. She didn't often see her friend like this. If she had, Faith's message wouldn't have come as such a shock. Sleeping, Buffy was still tense. Her muscles twitched intermittently and her faced was etched by a permanent frown. Willow stroked her hand along the arm at her waist and waited for the blonde to wake. She lost track of time and had nearly drifted back to sleep when a soft knock woke her bedmate. Willow couldn't restrain a chuckle at the comical look of shock in Buffy's hazel eyes when she realized she was wrapped around her best friend. A second knock sounded, and Willow scooted out of Buffy's loosened grasp. By the time she got to the door, though, there was no one there. A note had been tacked to the outside.

"Tara says there's a meeting at Giles' at 1:00," Willow said after scanning the message. _And I need to find a way to be there without you, Buffy_. There was no response. Willow glanced up to see a still sleepy-looking Slayer staring at her. "What? Something wrong?" Willow sat on the bed. "To quote a good friend – Earth to Buffy, you in there?"

The mocking question worked. Buffy shook her head slightly and grinned. "Yeah, Will. I'm good." She glanced away and Willow was sure she saw a blush creep up her friend's neck. "Sorry about the death grip."

"That's OK, Buffy. It was the hand on my breast earlier that was the problem." Willow laughed out loud when Buffy's eyes nearly came out of her head. "Gotcha!"

She received a crusty look in return. "Meanie. It's not fair teasing the Slayer when she wakes up." Buffy relaxed back onto the pillow. "So strategy with Watcher Man at 1:00." She looked at the clock. "Gives us a little time. I should probably check in with Riley to see if he's got anything new on Adam."

Willow nodded. "OK. I'll try to catch up with Tara and see if Giles had any other information." She stood up and grabbed a robe and her shower supplies. Opening the door, she glanced back at a still-reclining Buffy. "Race you to the showers?!"

"She's more depressed than I've ever seen her, Giles," Willow said. She and Tara sat across from the older man in his living room. "Faith said she had given up. I don't know that I would go that far – yet." The redhead shrugged.

"There isn't anything in the Watchers' Diaries. Of course, no Slayer has ever lived as long as Buffy. It isn't so surprising, given the nature of her Calling, that she feels a sense of isolation."

Willow sighed. "I just hate to see her this way; I'm afraid Adam's beating her because she's not really trying."

"I don't spend much time with Buffy, but maybe I can hang out with you both more, Willow. I'll keep an eye on her aura." Tara looked uncomfortable for a minute. "I don't usually do a deep scan. I think it's intrusive. But in this case, I'll make an exception if you think it's a good idea." She looked at Willow and Giles to get their reaction. They both nodded their assent. "OK. Then I'll just have to spend more time with you, Will." She gave Willow a small smile that grew when Willow winked at her.

Giles stood and moved toward the kitchen. "We should probably wrap this up. The rest of the gang should be here soon."

_I should have just stayed in bed,_ Buffy grumbled to herself. So far, her day had been a bust. Riley hadn't been camped out in the remains of Sunnydale High, and she hadn't spotted him when she'd stopped in at Lowell House. She checked her watch and debated. _Too early to go to Giles.' Maybe I should check out some of those caves Riley was talking about last week_. Her decision made, she jogged across campus.


	5. Chapter 5

The Scooby gang had invaded Giles' living room. Tara and Willow still shared the couch. Giles sat in his armchair and Xander sat on the floor at Willow's feet. Giles looked at his watch. "Willow, you did tell her the meeting was at 1:00?"

Suppressing a sigh since he'd already asked her that twice, Willow replied, "Yes, Giles. I did. She said she needed to stop in at Riley's. I think she wanted to talk to him about, um, well, she was going to talk to him. Maybe she's just running late." She smiled at the group. "Buffy may not be Miss Punctuality, but she eventually shows up."

"Regardless, we need to get started." Willow thought he sounded particularly stuffy today. "Now, have you been able to discover how Adam gets his power?"

Willow leaned back on the couch, feeling Xander shift to a more comfortable spot against her legs. "I've been going through the information Riley gave Buffy. It looks like he's got a uranium core. It's not on any of the schematics, but from what information Riley did have, I'd say its going to be close to his drive only farther toward the back."

"Way to go, Will. Now we just have to convince Adam to take a nap while we do a little bit of exploratory surgery."

Three pairs of eyes looked at Xander. "OK. Maybe not."

Hesitantly, Willow looked at Tara and Giles. "What about magic? Some sort of uranium-extracting spell?" She looked embarrassed as she noticed she was receiving the same look Xander had. "I know, I'm reaching."

Giles stood up. "Perhaps a paralyzing spell." He moved to the bookcase behind his chair and picked up a small, leather-bound book, opening it and rifling through its pages. He stopped at a specific page. After a short examination, he continued, "Only I can't perform the incantation of this."

"Oh, yeah. Don't you have to speak it in, like Sumerian?" Willow interrupted.

Looking faintly annoyed, Giles replied, "I do speak Sumerian. Only an experienced witch can incant it." He moved back to his seat.

"May I take a look at the spell, Mr. Giles?" Tara asked. Giles handed her the book and she skimmed quickly through the description. "Either Willow or I could do the incantation." She frowned as she continued reading. "But I don't think it would work. The book says some demons are immune to its effect."

Xander looked confused. "Why would that be a problem?"

"Well, Adam is part demon. Or-Or parts of several demons." Willow jumped in. "Did it say which demons, Tara?"

"No. That, plus the fact we aren't entirely sure which demons Professor Walsh used to construct Adam, make it risky."

Everyone was silent as they absorbed the news. "So no problem." Xander said with forced enthusiasm. "All we need is combo Buffy. Her with Slayer strength, Giles' multilingual know how, and Willow or Tara's witchy power." He continued, noticing he was once again the center of attention. "Yeah, I know, just tell me I'm full of helpful suggestions."

He nearly fainted when Giles replied, "As a matter of fact, you are."

"Yay, Xander!" Willow ruffled his hair. "Um, Giles, we can do a spell like that?"

"It's theoretically possible. We would need to research the right ritual and incantation, though." He smiled at Tara. "You seem to have some experience with this. I believe the Council records mention a way to invoke the spirit of the First Slayer. Perhaps that would be a good place for the two of us to start?"

"What about me and Will?" Xander sounded as if he couldn't make up his mind. Research was really not his thing, but he was ready to help Buffy. To his surprise, Tara answered instead of Giles.

"You and Will should go look for Buffy. She's not usually this late." She caught Willow's eye. "I'm a little worried."

"Sure, Tara. We'll go to Riley's first."

"So, Will, what's with you and Tara?" Xander asked as they drove toward the ruins of the high school.

Willow glanced at her oldest friend. "What do you mean?"

Xander frowned, dividing his attention between the road and Willow. "I mean the little smiles and the eye thing." When Willow still looked confused, he elaborated, "The thing where you stare a little too long and maybe wink a little. Something you want to tell me about you and Tara?"

Willow actually felt herself pale. She opened her mouth to deny any relationship, and paused. _C'mon, Willow. This is what Tara wants. Why is it so hard to say?_ "Absolutely no eye thing going on, Xander." _I am such a coward._ "OK, maybe a little eye thing." She noticed his small grin and sighed. "What made you the expert on secret relationships all of a sudden?"

Xander laughed out loud. "Remember me and Cordy?" Willow nodded. "We shared a lot of those lengthy looks back before you guys ever found out. How long have you been an item?" He stopped the van a few blocks from their old school.

"I don't think we _are_ an item." Willow said, climbing out and shutting the door. She grabbed Xander's hand as they began walking. "I mean, that's definitely what Tara wants. And, I want that, too. I think." She shrugged. "I don't know, Xan. I'm just so confused."

"Are you confused, or just scared of what everyone will say," Xander asked.

Stopping, Willow turned to her friend. "Xander? Is that you?"

"Will, I've know you since we were five. I probably know you better than anyone else on the planet." He let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. Starting to walk again, he continued, "Besides, I'm dating a 1200 year-old ex-demon. Anya may have a problem with tact, but she knows an amazing amount of stuff about people. Maybe I've picked up a few things from her."

"What kinds of things, Harris?" Willow asked with an impish smile.

"Evil witch!"

Willow shrieked when Xander dropped his arm from her shoulder and began tickling her ribs. "Stop. Hey, come on. It was funny. You know it was. Stop!" She was gasping for air and twisting. "OK. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it!"

"I knew you'd see it my way." They had reached the back of the school and its chain link barrier. Xander pulled back a loose section of the fencing and they clambered through. Riley, a deserter from the Initiative, had been hiding in the remains of the school library. The two Scoobies picked their way through the detritus of their fight with the Mayor. Nestled amid broken shelving and book rubble, they found Riley's sleeping bag and supplies – but no Riley or Buffy.

"Let's head back to the dorm. Maybe she's there. If not, we can call Giles and check in."

"Uh, Wil, does this place look like it's been lived in by a Marine?" Xander indicated the mess that littered the floor. "I mean, the one time we were all at Lowell House, Riley's towels looked ironed. I'm thinking he left in a hurry and didn't plan on coming back."

Willow looked around and had to agree. She hadn't noticed before, but the place was a disaster. Clothes were strewn everywhere. The sleeping bag lay open on the floor littered with pieces of what looked like electronic equipment. "Hey, Xander? Is that one of the Initiative's radios?" She pointed to the equipment.

"Good call." Xander picked up a walkie talkie. "But I don't think this is government issue" He waved the device at her. "If Marines go into battle with duct taped radios, I might be willing to cough up more in taxes. Let's see what Riley was listening to." He turned the unit on and they fell silent trying to hear the voices that crackled from the speaker.

"Status report, Team Two."

"Sir, we've tracked Adam and Hostile 17 to some caves in Sector 4. What are our orders?"

"Hostile 17 – isn't that Spike?" Willow spoke over the answer to the question. She shrugged an apology when Xander put his finger over his lips and glared.

The tinny conversation continued. "…believe that Adam is also present, sir. We discovered the body of a female a short distance from the entrance. She appeared to be alive, but badly wounded."

"ID," the other voiced barked impatiently.

"Yes, sir. One of the men identified her as Elizabeth Summers."


	6. Chapter 6

Tara watched as Willow and Xander left the apartment before turning back to Giles. The ex-Watcher was furiously pulling books off the bookcase behind his chair and mumbling to himself. Finally, he seemed to find the one he was looking for. "I knew I had it." He handed the book to Tara. "It's an incantation the council has used to channel the spirit of the First Slayer."

Tara began translating the text, her eyebrows climbing higher as she read. "Um, Mr. Giles, h-have you really looked at this?"

"Well, no. Is it not the right spell?"

"Oh, it's the right one, I think. B-But did you look at all of the warnings written next to the incantation?" Seeing the older man just look more confused, Tara sighed. "Mr. Giles, what exactly do you think this spell will do?"

Giles looked surprised at the question. "The Council hasn't used this particular spell in quite some time. However, it is reputed to infuse the current Slayer with the spirit of the First Slayer." When Tara looked like she was waiting for a more detailed explanation, he haltingly continued. "I thought we could use it to augment Buffy's Slayer strength to defeat Adam."

An uncomfortable silence filled the room. Giles, used to being the voice of reason and instruction, began to understand that this time, he was the student. "It's not that simple, Mr. Giles. This spell calls on the First Slayer, but it infuses the vessel with three other beings as well."

"What other beings? I don't remember anything like that from the Council records."

Tara shrugged. "Maybe they never spoke with the Slayer who was the vessel. From what Willow's told me, they don't seem very interested in listening to their girl soldiers." Giles winced as Tara continued "To do this spell correctly, you need four people. Buffy has to act as the Hand of the First Slayer. In other words, the living vessel. Through the incantation, she'll have access to the knowledge and strength of the entire Slayer line. That's not all, Mr. Giles," Tara said, noticing his elation. "Along with the strength, the vessel would be able to tap into the magical abilities of the witch casting the spell and the essences of the other two anchors."

"How is that a bad thing, my dear?"

"It might be easier to explain if you told me who you planned to use as the anchors."

"Well," Giles stalled. He took off his glasses and began to clean them. "I suppose you or Willow would cast the spell, with Xander and I completing the other components."

Tara gave a short laugh. "If we do that, Mr. Giles, we'll need to make our funeral arrangements before we go find Adam.

Pausing outside the cave entrance, Buffy hooked her handbag over her shoulder, allowing her to get a more comfortable grip on the taser rifle. She moved slowly forward, senses stretched to the limit. Using the nose of the rifle to move the undergrowth, Buffy crept into the cave, allowing her eyes to adjust to the changing light. The cave was empty – too empty. Despite the heavy overgrowth at the mouth, the interior of the cave was clean. There were indentations indicating the movement of people and objects. Buffy continued forward, weapon ready. Her Slayer senses began to tingle. She waited.

A familiar black leather duster topped by bleached blonde hair emerged from one of the cave's chambers. Spike looked surprised to see her, but recovered quickly. "So, I guess you decided to come get the information yourself, then, Slayer."

Buffy nodded, hoping Spike missed her confusion. _What information? And what does he mean by come and get it myself? Who else knows about this_? "What have you got for me, Spike? Obviously you want something in return?" Buffy wanted to wipe her clammy palms on her jeans.

"Well, now," Spike smirked, "I told Rupert the price yesterday. Don't tell me he's been withholding information from you, luv?"

_Damn! Why didn't Giles call me?_ She took a deep breath. "Look, Spike, you don't really think I'm going to do this without a little negotiation? I don't even know if your information is worth it." Buffy felt proud of her bluffing when Spike nodded in agreement. "So, show me yours, and then we talk price."

The vampire reached into a pocket and retrieved four computer disks. He held them out to Buffy. "These are files I found in the Initiative. I think they may have more information on Adam."

"You think? You mean you don't really know what's on them?"

"Oh, yeah. I forgot to check them on the computer in my crypt. I thought your hacker could get the information off them."

"Sorry, Spike." Buffy reached for the disks, and placed them in her bag. "What do you think is a reasonable exchange for the information?"

"There will be no need to discuss payment options," a deep voice interrupted.

Buffy clutched the rifle tighter as Adam appeared behind Spike. He placed a hand on the vampire's shoulder.

"You have fulfilled your part of the deal, vampire. You promised to separate the Slayer from her friends and bring her to me." The construct's head tilted slightly. "I will have to move up completion of the final phase."

Spike looked uncomfortable. "Well, now, Mr. Chips, glad to see you realize my contributions. What's say we talk about moving up the date of my chipectomy, too?"

Adam turned Spike to face him. "I think not. You are no longer of use to me." Buffy watched in horror as the monster gripped the vampire's hair in his left hand and pulled, removing Spike's head with no apparent strain. Seconds later, he was standing in a pile of dust. "Now, Slayer, time to complete Mother's vision."

The Slayer wasted no time talking. Raising the taser rifle, she fired a blast at Adam. The force of the electrical pulse wrapped around the metal portions of the demon-man. Rather than stop him, the pulses seemed to boost his power. Buffy dropped the rifle and launched an unarmed offensive. She could feel the bones in her hand break when her first blow landed, but there was no time to feel the accompanying pain. Adam casually swung his arm, knocking her several feet backward into the cave wall. Her vision wavered, but the Slayer wasn't giving up so easily. Staggering erect, she tried to land a spinning kick and found herself back against the wall.

"Do not fight me, human. Killing you is not part of Mother's plan."

"Yeah, well, your mother was a power hungry ego maniac. Are you sure she knew what she was doing?" Buffy taunted.

Adam paused. "Ah, you attempt to make me angry. Perhaps provoking me to attack in anger, without thought? Interesting."

Moving a few steps from the wall, Buffy tried to stem the fear draining her strength, and took a fighting stance. It took most of her strength just to hold the pose. Her left leg felt numb, and her arms were heavy. She blocked a few of Adam's blows. Experience told her she wouldn't manage that for long. It was time to get out of the cave. She threw a desperate roundhouse at the monster's head. He moved easily out of the way, but her momentum twisted her out of position. She couldn't block the combination of blows followed by a kick that propelled her several feet in the air. By the time she landed on the ground, Buffy realized this was probably her last fight. The thought didn't scare her; it brought a strange kind of detachment. Slowly, she got to her feet. She was going to make this bastard work to kill her. The pain receded into the background as Buffy launched another attack.

She landed two solid blows to Adam's head and was just starting a third when Adam reached out. His left arm retracted and in its place was a long metal spike. All Buffy could do was scream when he thrust the attachment into her side. The spike was the only thing holding her upright, and the Slayer waited for the final blow.

Adam stopped moving, head cocked to one side as if listening. "I had hoped you would prove useful during the final phase, but I do not wish to lose potential siblings by fighting Mother's soldiers here." He retracted the spike, turned, and left the chamber without looking back.

Buffy collapsed to her knees. She couldn't seem to get her legs to work and resorted to crawling toward the exit. As she crawled, she kept one thought in mind: she had to get those disks to Willow.

Willow and Xander raced from the school. "Xan, do you know what caves they were talking about?"

"I think there are some out by Hillcrest Cemetery."

"We don't have time to try finding them." They reached the van and clambered in. "Give me a minute." She fought to slow her breathing and regain her focus. When she felt centered enough, she chanted quietly, reaching out to the energy around her. A green mist coalesced around her, slowly taking shape as a collection of bright green, pulsing lights. Willow opened her eyes and watched the twinkling lights flow out of the van and down the street. "Follow those lights, Xan. They'll take us to Buffy."

For once, Xander had nothing funny to say. He started the engine and roared off in the wake of floating lights. It took almost an hour to reach the caves. They had to backtrack in the van since their guides hadn't always followed the streets, and the final leg of the journey was taken on foot. Caution finally overrode his need to reach Buffy as they ran through the wood.

"Will, wait. We can't just go charging in there. The Initiative may still be lurking around – or worse, Adam," he panted. He noticed Willow wasn't slowing down, so he grabbed her arm and stopped running. "Let's not make this worse by just going in blind" He held up the radio. "Let me see if anyone is still here." Turning it on and keying the mike, Xander let his soldier memories take over. "Team Two, status report," he barked. There was no response, just the hiss of static. "Someone give me a status report on Sector 4!"

"Sir, this is Base HQ. Sector 4 has been cleared."

"Cleared?" Xander needed to know if Buffy was still by the caves. "Why wasn't I informed? What about that civilian? Was she evac'd with Team Two?"

The voice on the radio was clearly confused. "No, sir. Team Two was ordered to Base HQ to assist with containment."

Before his informant started asking questions, Xander turned off the radio. "Come on, Will. The coast is clear." They started chasing the bobbing green lights again, and found Buffy ten minutes later. The Slayer was lying at the bottom of a small incline, blood pooling beneath her.

Four years as a Scooby hadn't made the hospital waiting room easier to bear. Willow shifted in the hard plastic chair and looked at the four small disks in her hand. Buffy had given them to her on the harrowing ride to Sunnydale General, managing to whisper they contained information on Adam. It was the last time she had been conscious. She needed to take a look at what was on the disks, but that would mean leaving the hospital.

"Will, is there anything you want to drink?"

She focused on Xander and shook her head. He turned and started to leave. "Hey, Xan. Do you think Giles would give you the keys to his place? My laptop is there." She waved the disks. "Maybe I can get the information while we wait." The redhead watched the young man stop by the nurses' station and talk to Giles. To her surprise, Xander didn't leave after the short conversation. Instead, both men walked back over to Willow and Tara.

"Perhaps we should find someplace quieter to talk about how we to proceed," Giles said.

Willow just shrugged, but Tara stated, "There's a chapel just down the hall. Take Willow and Xander. I'll let the nurses and Mrs. Summers know where we are." She left the others to make their slow, silent progression to the chapel. Inside, it was softly lit, with candles burning on small tables lining the wall. A dozen folding chairs were grouped in a semi-circle in front of a long, wooden table that was covered with a wide green runner. Both hacker and ex-Watcher chose chairs and sat without speaking. Xander leaned against the table.

Tara entered with Mrs. Summers a few minutes later. Seeing the expectant looks, Joyce Summers wearily shook her head. "They don't have any more news, but I got them to promise to find me if that changes." She and Tara joined the two already seated. "This is the first time I think we've visited here in the daylight." Joyce looked at Giles. "So I am assuming this wasn't a vampire attack."

Giles opened his mouth to reply, but sat back with a sigh when Tara took over the burden. "No, Mrs. Summers. It was Adam." Joyce nodded, but didn't say anything further. "We – Mr. Giles and I – we think we've found a spell to use against Adam." As quickly as possible, she outlined the enjoining spell.

"How are we going to get past that whole "no man" problem?" Willow asked.

"Well, I was thinking that you and I would be two parts." Here she hesitated and looked down at the hands in her lap. "And m-maybe Mrs. Sum-Summers would be the other."

"I think it would be best if we spoke to Buffy about this," Giles suggested. "It would be unwise to begin formulating a plan that requires using her mother without her consent."

Joyce stood up and began to pace. "Rupert, what Buffy wants isn't really an issue. She obviously can't defeat this thing on her own. If making me a part of some spell will give her a fighting chance, then I'm in." She looked at Tara. "What else can we do?"

"Willow needs to look at the disks Spike gave Buffy. We don't really know what Adam's plans are or even where to find him. I can't use a locator spell because of all the different demon parts." She looked at each of them in turn, getting a feel for their emotions. "And we need to come up with Plan B."

Willow looked at the older witch. "I thought you said the spell would work?"

"Oh, it'll work. But it takes three anchors and the vessel. The vessel has to be a Slayer. Depending on how long we have and Buffy's injuries, we don't have a Slayer." She met the redhead's eyes. "The only other Slayer disappeared. We either need a different plan, or we need to find Faith and bring her back to Sunnydale."


	7. Chapter 7

"Right," Xander exclaimed. "We'll bring Psycho Slayer back, spell her up, and see how many more people she can kill. She won't take out Adam, she'll just replace him."

Tara looked at Willow and Giles for support. Willow shook her head. "I know why you think this is a good plan, but you're wrong. Faith may have Slayer blood, but she betrayed that. I'll hack the discs. Hopefully, we'll find something to help take Adam down now, or we'll wait until Buffy's back on her feet."

Giles said nothing at all, merely watching the byplay between the rest of the gang. "Mr. Giles? Don't you think we should bring Faith here?" Tara couldn't believe she was the only one who saw how important this was.

"Tara, I'm sure you mean well, but I don't think that allowing Faith to act as the vessel of the entire Slayer line in is our best interest." He grimaced before continuing. "Though it pains me to admit it, Xander is right. Faith has already proven unstable. With that kind of magical power, she could do an extraordinary amount of damage."

Xander could see their newest member was upset. "Look, Tara, I know it looks really bad right now, but we always manage to find a way to defeat the latest Big Bad. Buffy's Slayer healing will kick in soon. We just need to be ready when she's back on her feet."

During the conversation, Joyce had moved toward the door. "Maybe I should see how long we need to wait. I'll check with the doctor." She headed out into the hall.

"Come on, baby. Give me a little time with the discs. I'm sure they'll have something we can use. Everything will work out, I promise." Willow hesitantly reached for Tara's hand, but the older witch moved away.

She couldn't believe how short sighted they were being. Didn't anyone understand that they might not have the time to wait for Buffy to heal? "Willow, what is it w-with you? Even if Buffy were upright, unless she's a hundred percent, the spell could literally tear her apart. She's going to be channeling centuries of Slayers as well as our powers. On top of that, she has to fight Adam." Tara wanted to scream in frustration at the looks of incomprehension she received. She tried again. "Would you rather take the chance that Adam could kill most of Sunnydale and release all of the demons in the Initiative because you've got issues with Faith? Willow, I told you what I saw the other night." She looked at the redhead. "Admit it. She was right about Buffy wanting to give up."

"Whoa! When did you guys talk to Faith?" Xander sounded confused.

Willow jumped in. "Don't worry about it, Xander. We didn't talk," she said, looking at Tara, "and she wasn't right."

Giles quietly said, "Willow, Tara is an experienced witch. I'm sure she was correct in her assessment of Faith."

"And I say again, when did you guys talk to Faith," Xander was angry now. Since the girls went off to college, he was always on the outside, never knowing things until they needed him. "Willow, when did you see Faith, and what do you mean she was right about Buffy?"

Tara sensed Willow was going to sidestep the question again. She thought the young man deserved an answer. "Faith was in Willow's dorm room last night." Ignoring the reaction to her statement, she swiftly outlined the conversation with the Dark Slayer. An uneasy silence followed the explanation.

Finally, Xander straightened up and slowly walked to the door. "I've always been there for you, Will. You and Buffy. But apparently, I'm not part of the gang anymore. You want to do this alone? Go right ahead. I'm done waiting around for you to remember I'm your friend." The door made a soft thump as it closed behind him.

"Great. Just great. Why couldn't you just leave things alone, Tara?" Willow demanded. She got up and moved a few steps away.

"I don't think you're being quite fair, Willow." Giles tried to derail her rant. "Tara has been invaluable in discovering a way to defeat Adam. You, as a fellow witch, should trust her judgment."

"Damn it, Giles. Stay out of this. Buffy's been dealing with everything by herself lately. Where have you been? Hiding at home, staring in to a glass of scotch, thinking about your lost career as a Watcher?"

Tara watched Giles flinch from the verbal blow. "Enough, Willow!" She walked over and grabbed Willow's arm. "The situation is bad enough without you making it worse. Listen to yourself. Your oldest friend thinks you don't need him. You've insulted the closest thing to a father you've ever had. And I'm done with feeling worthless and incompetent." She searched her friend's eyes, seeing no lessening of the anger there. "When this is over, I hope you can mend all the fences you've just torn down. I'm going now. You can scramble around and check the disks, but eventually you'll have to face the fact that Buffy may not be ready for an enspelled encounter with Adam. Call me. Faith and I will be waiting." She headed for the door, fighting tears.

_Crap. Out of all the places I could end up, I'm in L.A._ Faith pushed her hair out of her eyes and leaned against the wall. She was beyond tired. Her ribs still burned with every breath and there was a buzzing behind her eyes. She couldn't rest here. Faith didn't know exactly where here was, but she recognized the atmosphere. Vampires and demons weren't the danger and she wasn't about to take another human life – especially to save her own. Pushing her senses to the fullest, the girl known as the Dark Slayer made her way slowly down the alley.

Long blocks later, slums blended into an old commercial strip. Faith relaxed slightly. The area was fairly deserted and her Slayer senses were quiet. After a few minutes of searching, she found an ethnic grocery without the usual metal barricade blocking the storefront. A quick glance reassured her no one was watching. She grasped the heavy padlock on the door and twisted. It took longer than she expected for the lock to break. _Too bad I'll never get the chance to ask B what those Council guys did to me_. She entered the store without turning on the lights and scanned the shelves of food before randomly grabbing boxes and bags. Carrying her booty past the dairy cases, Faith searched until she found a small office.

With a sigh, she sat down behind the desk and opened a bag of chips. Hunger took control after the first handful. In no time, the food was gone and the trash can was overflowing with empty packaging. Sated, Faith felt the pull of exhaustion. Even the dubious comfort of the rickety rolling chair called her to sleep. Shaking her head, Faith pushed herself to her feet. The owner probably wouldn't be in for a couple of hours at least, but even in this part of L.A., the cops would notice the broken lock. Another trip through the front door was too risky so the Slayer headed out back. It had started to rain while she had dinner, and Faith cursed the thin jeans jacket she was wearing as she wandered through the downpour. Walking in the wet darkness gave her too much time for thinking. Slinging her soaked hair over her shoulder, Faith picked up her pace and started looking for a little action to take her mind off the memories.

She ran for several minutes, keeping to the shadows, before she found it. A tall man in a leather duster fought a handful of vampires. The Slayer never questioned how the lone fighter kept the fangs at bay. She simply charged into the battle, fists flying. There were no stakes hiding in her jacket, so Faith resorted to old fashioned butt-kicking. A combination of blows knocked a young, well dressed vampire out of the fight. She grabbed another opponent, pushing him against the wall of the nearby building. The rage from the church returned, but this time, she wasn't swinging at herself. Her control fled as she battered the vampire with blow after punishing blow. The pummeling might have continued indefinitely, but a hand grabbed her arm and spun her away. Shaking and still fueled by anger, Faith turned on her attacker, throwing a wild right.

The vampire behind her growled and blocked the potentially damaging punch. Hands grabbed both her shoulders, pinning her arms. "Faith? What are you doing here?"

By the time Tara got to her dorm room, she had her tears (if not her emotions) under control. She lit a few candles and grabbed a water from the tiny fridge before dropping gracelessly onto the bed. She lay there, the final minutes in the chapel on endless repeat in her mind. A few tears leaked from her eyes before being impatiently scrubbed away. Vowing to avoid the self-pity, Tara rolled off the bed and headed to her desk. _I told Will Faith and I would be here when they finally bowed to reality. I'm going to need to find a way to figure out where she is, then_, she thought. Convinced that the wanted fugitive had left Sunnydale ruled out the locator spell Willow had used to find Buffy. Tara was going to need something that worked over larger distances. Unfortunately, most of those spells required a personal item from the individual being sought.

She moved a pile of school books out of the way and noticed a message light blinking on the answering machine. _Probably Willow calling to tell me she's sorry. Too late for that_. Steadfastly ignoring the indicator, Tara grabbed the spell books from her bookcase and returned to the comfort of the bed to research. Two hours later, she was no closer to an answer. Rubbing her temples, she tried to think of other alternatives. _OK. If magic won't work, what else can I try? Faith was terrified Buffy would find her. She needed to leave fast and get as far away as possible_. Tara remembered how beaten up the other Slayer looked in the hallway yesterday. Hitch-hiking was probably out, then. Sunnydale had an airport, but that required money and usually an ID. Even the Sunnydale police would watch the bus depot. That left the docks or a cargo train. She needed to check departure records for yesterday afternoon. Hoping that this would be more successful than her magical research, Tara grabbed her bag, a cross, and some holy water before heading for the UC-Sunnydale library.

It was still early enough in the semester for the library to be nearly deserted. Tara logged on to the computer and tried to find the train and shipping schedules for Sunnydale. Biting her lip, she devoutly hoped she'd picked up enough about the Internet from Willow to do this. It was easier than she'd thought. The shipping schedules showed no departures for the day before. She tried the train schedules next. The passenger trains were no problem to find. But the witch was sure that the fugitive Slayer would have avoided those. A few searches and some dead ends later, she found the departure times and destinations for the cargo trains that passed through town. Five trains had rolled through Sunnydale yesterday. Only two were possible escapes routes – one to Houston, the other to Los Angeles. Tara wanted to bang her head on the table in frustration. There was no way to know which train Faith had taken. She wasn't ready to give up, but it was time to call Giles and see if he had any other magical means for locating Faith.

The trip back across campus was uneventful. At least Adam had one positive impact on things, vampire and demon activity were at a standstill. Once inside her dorm room, Tara moved to the phone. The red message light was still blinking. Sighing, the witch decided to listen to Willow's hyper apology before calling Giles. She pressed the message button and listened to a completely unexpected voice: "Hi, Willow? I really hope this is the right number. It's Cordelia. Look, Angel had this number in case we needed to get in touch with Buffy, and, well, I think Buffy needs to get here soon. Psycho Slayer's in town, and Angel's deeply into his 'everyone deserves another chance' mode."


	8. Chapter 8

Willow watched Tara walk from the room in disbelief. Only after the doors closed behind the older witch did the reality of the situation hit her. The redhead turned to the only remaining Scooby her eyes filled with tears. "Giles?" She sounded dazed. "What did I just do?"

There was little sympathy in the ex-Watcher's gaze as he replied, "I would think that was obvious, Willow. Now, perhaps I should return to my apartment. I believe your computer is there." He, too, moved to abandon her. "You'll need it if we are to discover what's on the disks. I would appreciate a call if there is any change with Buffy whilst I'm gone."

His statement lashed at Willow. "Sure. Sure, Giles. I'll call." She looked away, afraid to see the condemnation in his eyes. Huddling onto a chair, the witch stared at one of the candle flames along the wall and tried to figure out just where things had gone so terribly wrong. The passing of time faded in the orange glow that filled her consciousness. Answers eluded her, but the meditation brought a measure of calm. Unwinding from her cramped position in the small chair, Willow stretched before wandering out to check on Buffy.

The hallway was deserted. Panic tried to overwhelm the remnants of peacefulness until Joyce came into view, talking with the doctor. Breathing a sigh of relief, Willow walked over and hovered a few feet from the pair. Although she couldn't hear their hushed conversation, she decided it must be good news from the way Mrs. Summers smiled. After a few minutes, Joyce noticed Willow standing motionless in the hallway and reached out a beckoning hand. The younger woman hesitantly joined her and was immediately wrapped in a tight hug.

"She's awake, Willow." Joyce's voice was choked with emotion.

At the pronouncement, Willow leaned into the embrace, sobbing. Dimly, she could hear Buffy's mother's whispered words of comfort and burrowed into the arms around her. Finally, though, the emotion ran out, leaving the redhead drained. Sniffling, she wearily straightened and pulled from Joyce's hug.

Joyce allowed her to move away, but kept a firm grip on Willow's hand. "Is everyone still in the chapel?"

"No." Her voice sounded strained by more than just the earlier tears. "Giles went back to his place to get my laptop."

Even though the young redhead wasn't her daughter by birth, she had spent enough time in the Summer's house for Joyce to recognize the avoidance in Willow's answer. Cupping the girl's chin, the surrogate mother looked for the rest of the information. "What about Xander and Tara?" she questioned.

Blushing brilliant crimson, Willow stuttered, "Well, um, after you left to check on Buffy, Tara…" A quick glance up showed Joyce giving her a 'you're going to tell me eventually' look and she caved. Dropping her eyes, she launched into explanation. "Tara said we needed to go get Faith, but no one agreed with her. She got kinda upset and then Xander found out Faith had been to see us. She told us that Buffy was depressed, maybe even suicidal." When Joyce stiffened, Willow started talking even faster. "A-and then Xander stormed out 'cause he said we'd forgotten he was our friend, and I said some things to Tara and Giles that weren't very nice and they both left, too." By the time she finished speaking, the redhead's words were jumbled, tears and sobs making clarity a problem.

Joyce pulled the weeping girl back into her arms. More than anything, she wanted to ask Willow about what Faith had said, but she knew the teen wasn't ready for an inquisition. "OK, it's OK, Willow." She stroked the rumpled red hair buried against her chest. "Buffy's been asking for you. Pull yourself together and go see her. I'll give Rupert a call." The shuddering form in her arms froze for a moment before slowly pulling away. It took all of Joyce's self control to swallow her laughter. Willow's eyes were red and swollen, with tear tracks visible amidst her freckles. A red nose and hiccupping breaths completed the abject picture. As she turned to find a phone, Joyce couldn't resist commenting, "You might want to freshen up before visiting."

It took a moment to get her bearings after the second crying jag. Dazedly looking around the hallway, Willow finally woke up enough to lurch toward the restrooms. A glance in the mirror told the witch why Joyce had suggested the pit stop. Cold water helped with the remaining tear stains but did little to lessen the puffy eyes. Shrugging, she gave up trying to hide her grief and went in search of her best friend.

The shock of seeing Angel sent Faith over the edge. Writhing in his grip, the Slayer loosed a primal scream and threw herself at the souled vampire. She managed to slip from his grasp with the move. She beat at him mindlessly, screaming, tears mixing with the rain on her face. Fatigue finally forced her to stop, and she simply hung in his grasp, pleading, "Please, help me." The tough-girl façade shattered. Eyes dark with understanding, Angel picked up the hysterical Slayer and started for home.

By the time they reached his apartment, Faith had pulled herself together. The tears and sobs had faded, leaving her disconnected and empty. She could feel Angel looking at her, trying to evaluate her state of mind. But the Slayer couldn't seem to care; maybe that's why she allowed the vampire to lead her out of the freight elevator and into the small subterranean apartment Angel used. As soon as he stopped pushing her, though, Faith stopped moving.

Two hundred and forty years of living gave him some insight, and Angel merely commented, "I'll just put your stuff here," and dropped her jacket onto a chair. Turning, he reached out, but stopped short of touching the frozen teen. "Why don't you get some rest? I'll be close by."

Faith wanted to respond but was afraid there would be no words, just more screaming. So she nodded, and curled up in the bed, comforter held in clenched fists beneath her chin. It was warm, peaceful. Watching Angel putter around the room, she needed to let him know his kindness was appreciated. "Angel?" Her voice felt broken from the earlier emotional storm.

"Yeah?" The tall demon turned immediately.

"Thanks." The smile that greeted her hesitant response was unexpected. "I don't know…" The words trailed off as the Slayer dropped into sleep.

Stretching brought only the faintest protest from her ribs, and Faith smiled before snuggling into the pillow. _Good. Slayer healing's finally kicking in._ Inhaling deeply, she tried to get back to sleep but the scent from the pillow had her Slayer senses on alert. Sitting up, Faith quickly took in the dim light from the lamp on the nightstand. _Where the hell…Angel's_ her mind sluggishly provided.

Now that she was more or less upright, the need for sleep faded. Standing, Faith took stock of her surroundings. There were no windows in the room. The table lamp provided the only source of light. She opened a door to her left – bathroom. A set of double doors led to a living room and small kitchenette. The refrigerator was stocked with pints of blood, and – she was relieved to see – normal food. Although her stomach rumbled, the Slayer decided a shower was her first priority.

It appeared Angel had anticipated her need to clean up. Fresh towels and shower supplies adorned the vanity. A pair of jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt rested on a wicker hamper. Picking up the clothes, Faith sniffed and then smirked. _Wonder what Queen C thought of loaning me her stuff_. Quickly stripping off her grimy leather pants and top, she stepped into the shower. She luxuriated under the steady stream of hot water until it began to cool. Energetically toweling her hair, she walked to the fogged over mirror and cleared a spot with one hand. The physical signs of her last fight with Buffy had nearly disappeared. Looking deep into the eyes of her reflection, Faith wondered what she would find. The image didn't show her anything new, but scenes and voices from the past bombarded the Slayer.

Buffy's voice, strident with disbelief and a touch of fear, "You killed a man!" 

Her own voice, devoid of emotion, "I don't care." 

The argument had ended there, the day after she had killed Allan Finch. But those three words echoed in her head. Breaking away from the eyes in the mirror, Faith dressed and fled the bathroom. She couldn't stay here. Angel was too close to her past; being here, with him, would bring it all back. She jogged into the kitchen, focused on grabbing a meal before finding the exit. Faith piled sandwich fixings onto the counter and yanked a large knife from a rack for the roast.

"Glad to see you're finally awake."

The Slayer started at Angel's voice, spinning to face him with the knife raised.

Hands extended from his sides in a show of peace, he calmly continued. "Faith, I want to help. But there are a few things you have to do." The vampire paused, waiting to see her reaction. She remained crouched, knife ready. "First, I need you to give me that knife."

Faith stared hard at the demon standing in front of her and then at the blade in her hand. Straightening from her crouch, she approached Angel. Although he held his hands steady, she could see his body bracing for action. The Slayer moved to within a few feet and slowly extended the knife, hilt first. Angel took the knife and relaxed a bit.

"You're looking better," he said. He walked around her and took a pint of blood from the fridge. Losing his human features, the vampire bit into the bag, draining it quickly.

"Faith, no!" She heard Buffy's voice just as the stake entered the vampire's chest. Oddly, there was no dust, just warm, sticky liquid staining her hands. A closer look revealed her hands were covered in blood. 

"Faith?"

It took a minute for the Slayer to realize she wasn't in that alley, with Allan Finch's blood soaking her hands. "Yeah, what?" She snapped.

Angel discarded the bag. "Sure you're OK? You went kind of pale." He shifted again, hiding his fangs. "Maybe I should have asked if you were alright with me eating."

"Whatever, Big Guy." Faith went back to the food on the counter. She wasn't really hungry anymore, but wasn't sure when she'd have the chance to eat next. "I was just making a sandwich when you came in and freaked over the cutlery." The vampire had always made her nervous. She couldn't stake him – him being Buffy's boyfriend. Then, he had chained her up in the mansion and tried to convince her that the Scoobies could help after the Finch thing. Faith was pretty sure he had more redemption talks in mind.

Sandwich in hand, she went to the living room and sat in front of the television. She flicked through the channels, finally settling on an old episode of "Gilligan's Island." It didn't take long to work her way through the sandwich, and Faith debated whether to fix another. Angel's figure still standing in the kitchen made her decision easier, and she remained in the living room pretending to watch TV. _I should've skipped the shower_, she thought when the vampire joined her.

"So, what's your plan, Faith?"

He was using that creepy, soft voice reserved for stray dogs or crazy people. _Wonder which one I am_? The Slayer didn't answer. "You could stay here for a while."

"And do what, Angel? I don't think you've got a great need for murderers on the payroll." The words came out before she could stop them.

Angel moved to kneel in front of her. "No, I don't. But I could use a Slayer who's on the path of redemption." He took her hand. "The benefits aren't great and the work is pretty painful. However, I can promise you won't be working alone."

The soft words brought tears to the teen's eyes. Struggling to keep her emotions in check, she replied, "How do you ever get the images to go away? Every time I close my eyes, I see Allan Finch or the professor."

"They fade, in time. But you won't ever forget. They'll always be there, reminding you just how hard you have to work to make up for your mistakes." Seeing her pull into herself, Angel continued. "You made mistakes, Faith. Accept that and move on. You can learn to live with the pain of what you did, but you can't let it rule you."

Angel's words pounded at Faith. Panicked, she jumped out of the chair, knocking the vampire over as she ran for the elevator.

"You go out that door, you'll be running for the rest of your life. My bet, it'll be a pretty short run."

"It doesn't matter," the Slayer replied, grasping the metal grating covering the elevator.

The vampire was relentless. "Where are you gonna go? Back into that darkness?" he questioned.

Faith opened her mouth to answer, but never got the chance.

"No. She's coming back to Sunnydale with me." Slayer and vampire stared in shock at the blonde standing unnoticed inside the elevator.


	9. Chapter 9

Tara walked to stand opposite Faith as the Slayer dispensed with the grating. "Cordelia said you were both down here."

"Yeah, Blondie. That don't explain why you're here. I thought you guys had something big on the calendar." Faith was trying really hard to ignore the witch's opening statement. The only way she planned on going back to Sunnydale was – well, OK, she wasn't planning on ever going back.

The tired blonde walked around Faith. "H-Hi, Angel. I'm Tara." She held out her hand and the quiet vampire shook it. "I guess you could say I'm the newest Sc-Scooby. Cordelia left a message for Willow that Faith was here." She grinned crookedly at the Slayer's snort of amusement. "Can we sit down? You need to know what's going on."

Angel could tell Faith was going to be difficult, so he stepped in. "Sure, Tara. Faith, why don't you get something else to eat and get Tara something to drink." He motioned the two women into the living room. When the dark-haired girl hesitated, he placed a firm hand on her shoulder and gently propelled her in the right direction. He joined Tara on the couch, turning to face her. "If you came to get Faith, then things aren't going well." There was no doubt in his statement. He was very sure of the Sunnydale crew's dislike for the second Slayer.

Tara nodded. "You could say that. Do you want me to get started, Faith?" She raised her voice slightly to reach the girl in the kitchen.

"Yeah. The sooner you get done with the explanation, the sooner I can hit the road."

Witch and vampire shared a look. Neither of them had any intention of allowing the Slayer to run. "We've been trying to find a way to defeat a government-created human-demon hybrid named Adam. Yesterday, we found a spell that would let me or Willow channel the power of the Slayer line through Buffy. Unfortunately, before we could tell Buffy, she ran into Adam." Tara paused, trying to find the best way to continue. Nothing came to mind. "Buffy's in the hospital."

The faint noises in the kitchen stopped. Tara waited through an uncomfortable silence. When it became clear that neither Angel nor Faith was going to ask, she clarified, "She was unconscious when I left the hospital several hours ago."

This finally got a response. "So, B's in a coma? What do they call that – poetic justice?"

Tara's eyes closed at the mocking statement. It was well after midnight, and she was running on nerves. Her shielding was impaired by a fog of exhaustion. The Slayer's words were crude, but the emotion behind them cut at her control. "Not a coma. At least, the doctor's didn't think so. She was really banged up – head injury, bunch of broken bones, and some swelling along the spine."

Angel drew in a breath he didn't need. "But they think she'll be OK?"

"The doctors wouldn't really say. But Willow helped bring her in. She got a chance to do a quick scan and try a little healing. Enough that Buffy should be fine." Angel sagged in relief. Faith came in and offered Tara a bottle of water. She also held out a plate piled with food. The witch took the water and waved off the food. She just wanted to get this finished, get Faith's commitment to return to Sunnydale.

"If B's gonna be fine, then you don't need me there."

"Faith," Tara's fatigue morphed into impatience. _Damn it, I wouldn't drive out here if I thought Buffy could do this_. "Yes, Buffy will be fine – eventually. But no one knows how long it will be before Adam makes his move. We need you to replace Buffy as the focus of the spell."

Sandwich frozen halfway between her plate and her mouth, Faith stared at the blonde in shock as she went on. "The focus has to be a Slayer. With Buffy out of commission, we need you, Faith." Tara sensed that this was the way to convince the brunette – need. The witch searched for words, pressing her point. "No one else can do this. You _have _to go to Sunnydale."

Nothing showed on the Slayer's face, and tired blue eyes closed in frustration. "For Goddess' sake –"

"So, the Scoobies sent you out here because the first stringer is out and you need to pull in the second?" Faith asked.

Tara nodded.

"I'm not buying it, Blondie. Ain't no way the gang's onboard with me being back in SunnyD."

"You're right, Faith." The Slayer's eyebrows shot up, and she opened her mouth to speak. Tara rushed on, though, her words harsh with fatigue and too much emotion. "I'm the _only_ one that believes we'll need you. Everyone else is betting on Buffy getting back on her feet and being strong enough that the spell won't tear her apart." Tears began to fill her eyes. "Even Willow wouldn't believe me when I told her."

Slayer and witch stared at each other until a quiet voice interrupted. "You have to go, Faith" He had been so quiet both girls had forgotten he was in the room. "This is your chance."

"My chance to what, Fang? Have B kick my ass again when she's out of the hospital? Hell, Red might not wait that long. From what I saw, she's long past floating pencils."

Faith shot out of the chair. Angel stood, too, and they went toe to toe. Tara watched apprehensively. The Slayer was on the edge of losing control.

"Why'd you stop to talk to Willow?" The witch's voice was soft, barely audible. When both Faith and Angel turned in her direction, she said, "I just want to know. Why would you risk accidentally running into Buffy or the police by going to the dorms?"

Tara wasn't really expecting an answer and was shocked when Faith replied, "Couldn't let Buffy make the same mistakes as me. When I was feelin' all overwhelmed after Finch, that's when I started lookin' for ways to get killed. Didn't want B making the same dumb decisions."

"Then help me! If you don't go back with me, then Buffy will crawl out of the hospital and face Adam. Believe me, Faith, with or without the spell, she won't survive the fight. Even Slayer healing takes more time than she has."

Glancing between pleading blue eyes and sympathetic black ones, Faith bowed to the inevitable. "OK, Blondie. When do we leave?"

Willow paused just outside the room. The hacker was nervous about seeing her best friend. Finally, she peered around the doorframe at the small blonde. Buffy smiled at her from the bed, and Willow slowly walked toward her.

"Mom said she would go find you. I thought maybe something was wrong; she's been gone a while." Buffy's voice was a mere whisper. She took a deep breath, and Willow saw her wince. "Guess I should thank you for finding me."

The redhead frowned. Her friend didn't sound all that sincere. "Hey, no problem. I think you're still way ahead in the 'saving your friends from certain death" competition. Your mom was pretty happy when I talked with her. Seems you'll be back to saving the world in no time." She watched Buffy's reaction carefully.

"Yay, me."

This time, Willow couldn't mistake the bitterness in the Slayer's voice or miss the tear that trailed down the pale cheek. She pulled a chair close to the bed and sat, gripping the hand nearest her. "Why the tears, Buffy?"

The blonde head shook violently against the pillow.

"Come on. You know you can't keep a secret from me." The witch tapped her fingers lightly against the hand in her grasp. "Buffy, I'm really worried, and I'm not going away."

A choked sob broke from the form in front of her. "Will, I…I don't want to do this anymore. There's just too much; I can't deal with it all. There's always something looming ahead, and one day, I know I'm gonna make a mistake, and that'll be it."

"Buffy," Willow hesitated. She wanted to promise the distraught girl that it wouldn't happen that way, but they'd both know she was lying. "You're not alone, you know. We're all here to keep the chance of mistakes to a minimum. But, you need to let us help. You've been kinda 'Loner Gal' for a while."

Buffy didn't respond. Her eyes stared sightlessly past Willow, tears streaming steadily.

Maybe the supportive best friend wasn't what the Slayer needed. "Buffy, I wish you could send the Council your resignation. But it doesn't work that way." She snuck a glance at the blonde. She had her attention. "Yeah, it sucks that you have no life and that the whole world relies on you to keep them safe. A little bitterness is understandable. But I'll say it again: you are not alone." Willow bit off each word, trying to force the Slayer out of her depression. "Can you honestly say things haven't changed? Xan and I used to sit in the library while you single-handedly took on the bad guys. We don't do that anymore. We're out there with you, and Tara's helped me harness my powers. I don't think you'll be the only one fighting anymore."

"It's not fair that you guys have to be out there. It's _my_ job."

Willow nearly laughed at the contradictory whine from her best friend. She smiled lovingly at the Slayer, leaning as close as possible from the chair. "Buffy, come on, when has life been fair? If life were fair, Cordelia would be fat and ugly and Principal Snyder would have had horns and carried a pitchfork." The hacker relaxed slightly at the smile tilting Buffy's mouth. "Now, take a long nap. I'll make sure no bad guys get in and when you wake up, I'll know everything we need to know about Adam and his evil plan."

"You'll wake me if you find anything, right?" Getting a nod in response, Buffy reluctantly said, "OK." As soon as the words left the Slayer's mouth, her eyes drifted shut and she quickly fell asleep. Willow leaned back in the uncomfortable chair and simply watched the sleeping girl. The beeping monitors and hushed hospital noises lulled her into a trance-like state for a while until movement by the door caught her attention.

Mrs. Summers stood holding up her laptop case. Willow got up carefully to avoid waking Buffy and walked over to the older woman. She reached for the equipment, ready to go to work on the disks, but Buffy's mother didn't let go. "Let's go talk about my daughter and what Faith had to say."


	10. Chapter 10

Willow stared blankly at Joyce Summers for a moment before shaking her head slightly. "I'm sorry, what did you say?' Her voice squeaked on the final word.

"You know very well what I said, Willow Rosenberg."

_Great. Can this day get any worse? What am I thinking, of course it can._ Willow didn't respond; she just walked past the other woman toward the small waiting lounge down the hall. The witch could feel Joyce behind her, disapproval and worry radiating off Buffy's mother in waves. After checking to make sure they were alone in the room, Willow sat down in a chair, perching on the edge.

Joyce sat down next to her and waited expectantly.

"Faith was in my dorm room last night." She hesitated, not really knowing how to describe the Dark Slayer's visit. "At first, I thought she was there to kill me or Buffy, but she said she had some information."

"I don't really need all the details, dear. You mentioned earlier that Faith said Buffy might be suicidal. How about you just skip to that part, hmm?" The older Summers tried to keep the impatience from her voice. The tiny redhead babbled at the drop of a hat, but right now, she was at a verbal standstill.

The girl shrank away from her interrogator. "Sure, Mrs. Summers. That's what she said – well, maybe not quite like that." The Willowbabble was finally rearing its head. "Faith told me Buffy didn't fight back in the church and she was giving up. There's a bond the two of them share and Faith could feel the despair through it."

"And you think she was telling the truth." Joyce sounded unsure.

"Umm, not really. I mean it was Faith and she was always playing head games with me. So I asked Tara about it. She can read auras and she swore Faith was telling the truth."

Joyce stood and walked a few feet away. Head bowed, she asked, "Is that why my daughter's lying in a hospital bed?" Her voice was choked with tears.

"NO." Willow was adamant. "No, Mrs. Summers, I really don't think so." She hadn't been sure until just now. "Buffy and I talked a little before the fight and when she woke up. She just wants to quit, to stop being a Slayer. It's got her all confused and depressed. But she still believes Slaying is her job; she even got mad when I mentioned Xander and I wouldn't let her fight alone. I think Adam is too strong for her. All those demon parts and the cyborg exoskeleton – I mean, he's a lot more than she's ever faced before. We can't look him up on the Internet or in some dusty book on Giles' bookshelves. Until yesterday, we didn't have a clue how to beat him."

"So, you think this spell will work?" Joyce turned to face Willow.

The young witch nodded enthusiastically. "Definitely. As soon as Buffy is out of here, we can go find Adam. I just need to take a look at the stuff on Spike's disks so we know where he is."

"I'm not sure…" Mrs. Summers' voice trailed off. "Why would Tara think Buffy wouldn't be able to help with the spell now? The doctor said she would be fine in a few weeks."

"Tara thinks we don't have that kind of time. She isn't used to Slayer healing," Willow replied. She noticed a vicious "don't lie to me, I'm your mother" look aimed her way. _Ookay. That is so much worse than Resolve Face. I suddenly want to confess every wrong thing I've ever done._ "If Buffy's not completely healed, Tara also thinks acting as the vessel could basically rip her apart," she mumbled.

"And that's why you argued." Joyce wasn't asking a question. "So let me get this straight." Willow tried to become one with the chair at the frustrated tone. "My daughter is supposed to walk out of here as soon as possible because she needs to save the world – again. You said something else, earlier. Something about Faith taking Buffy's place."

"Yeah. Tara wanted to go get Faith just in case Buffy wasn't ready. None of us thought that was a good idea. You know, making Faith a Super Slayer when she's already tried to kill us and all."

Buffy's mother sighed. "God knows I have my own problems with Faith, but…Honey, do you trust Tara?" At the small nod, she continued. "Then you really don't have anything to fear from Faith. If she believes Faith isn't a danger and we need her for the spell, you should believe her." Joyce lapsed into deep thought. "OK. I need a few minutes alone. It's a lot to take in at once, especially since I'm usually out of the loop on the Slaying details." She gestured to the computer bag by the door. "Go, ahead, Willow. Find the information we need and keep an eye on my daughter." She smiled slightly. "You've always been there for her."

"I'm not planning on changing that." Willow picked up the bag and headed for Buffy's room, determined to do whatever it took to help Buffy defeat Adam.

"I can't make the drive back to Sunnydale right now," Tara answered the Slayer. "Let me get a few hours of sleep and then we'll head back."

Faith shrugged. "Whatever. Where are you going to hide me until the big battle? I'm wanted for murder, remember?"

"You can stay in my dorm room." Tara pushed her hair behind her ear. "Look, I know there are a lot of details, but I need to crash."

"The bedroom's through here." Angel guided the exhausted witch out of the living room. "I can get you some fresh sheets if you want to take a quick shower."

Tara shook her head. "The sheets are fine. Don't let me sleep more than a few hours. I want to get Faith into the dorms before most of the students are up. We'll need to leave by 5:00." At Angel's nod, Tara smiled. "Thanks, Angel. One last favor? Make sure she doesn't leave."

"She'll be here." An answering smile ghosted the vampire's mouth. "Even if I have to chain her to the wall."

Chuckling, the blonde climbed under the covers and watched Angel leave.

Tara woke to a light touch on her shoulder.

"Fang said you wanted to get an early start," Faith said. She waved a steaming mug at the groggy witch. "I got coffee brewing in the kitchen when you're ready."

"OK, give me a few minutes." Tara swung her legs out of the bed and staggered into the bathroom. She didn't bother with a shower. That could wait until they got back to Sunnydale. Instead, she splashed cold water on her face and availed herself of the toothbrush on the vanity. A glance in the mirror told her she looked rumpled but presentable.

Faith was leaning against the kitchen counter, absently sipping from a coffee mug, when Tara came out of the bedroom. "So, Blondie, you sure you want to take me back to SunnyD?"

"I thought we took care of all this last night, Faith. We need you there. It doesn't matter what Willow or the rest think. It's only a matter of time before they realize Buffy isn't going to be ready in time. So, stop trying to weasel out of saving the world, and hand me some coffee."

She wasn't expecting the dimpled smile and laughter from the normally taciturn Slayer. "Gotcha, T. One coffee coming right up." Faith grabbed another mug from a cabinet and filled it. "Need anything but the java?"

"Cream and sugar if you can find it." Looking completely at ease, the brunette quickly added the requested items and handed the witch her coffee. After a tentative sip, Tara asked, "You all packed?"

"Ain't nothing to pack. All I got are these clothes – and they belong to Queen C." At the blonde's questioning look, she explained. "Cordelia. Used to be the Head Bimbo at Sunnydale High. I think Willow was the one who came up with the Queen C title."

"Sounds like Willow." Tara drank the coffee quickly. Despite the easy banter, she could tell Faith was anything but relaxed. Time to hit the road. She rinsed the mug and put it back in the cabinet. "Well, if you're traveling light, we should head out."

The Slayer didn't reply, but started for the elevator. The offices of Angel Investigations were empty at this time of morning. The vampire and his crew were either tucked in for the night or out on a job. The two women exited the building and climbed into Tara's borrowed car.

A comfortable silence blanketed the first hour of the drive, but Tara sensed the change as they got closer to their destination. Not wanting to alienate the brunette, she hesitantly reached out and touched Faith's knee. "It'll be OK." When Faith snorted, the witch smiled slightly. "Alright. That was a pretty dumb comment. But, whatever happens with Adam, I promise that the Scoobies won't hurt you."

"How can you say that, Blondie? Even all banged up, B's gonna want to kick my ass. And Red? She never did like me, and that was before all the other stuff."

Faith hadn't moved away from her touch, so Tara daringly moved to grasp the girl's left hand, squeezing gently. "Well, they may try to 'kick your ass' as you said. But they won't be able to lay a hand on you." She could feel the tension in the body across from her. A glance at the younger girl showed an aura whirling with fear and anger, bolstered by a steady determination. _Hmm, she may be terrified of being in Sunnydale, but she isn't going to back down_. _Good._

"Hate to break it to you, T. Buffy's never lost a fight with me and Red's already showed just how little Slayer strength is against her mojo."

Tara couldn't hold back her laughter. At Faith's confused look, she explained. "If you were on your own, that would be true. However, I'll be there to protect you." The laughter broke out again at the look on the other girl's face. "You should see yourself," she managed to gasp out.

"Don't know what's so funny," Faith ground out, managing to look like a pouting five-year old.

"Oh, Goddess, that felt good." Tara reflexively linked her fingers with Faith's and stroked her thumb across the back of her companion's hand. "Hey, sweetie, you can trust me on this – I am strong enough to keep Buffy and Willow from trying anything."

Tara could see the girl looking at their joined hands, but the Slayer didn't say anything or move away. She also still didn't appear entirely convinced. "If you say so, Blondie. But I gotta ask, if you're so strong, why can't you just go after Adam?

"We actually thought of that – me and Willow. But Adam is made up of several different demons. We don't know what those demons were and that makes any kind of focused, combative magic risky. Before we discovered the enjoining spell, we were exploring ways to remove Adam's power source. Unfortunately, anything we found worked on some demons, but not on others. So, it wouldn't be effective to try a direct magical attack," Tara explained.

The Slayer was silent for a few minutes. "OK, then. Whatever I gotta do to help out, just tell me. You keep saying you don't think Buffy's going to have enough time to heal. Is Adam planning something, or is this like one of those ritual things that's got to happen at a certain time?"

The witch hesitated before answering. This was a new Faith. She could still see the whirling emotions, but they had faded. This was Faith the Slayer, totally focused on the job at hand. "Well, nobody's really sure. Just before Buffy got hurt, though, Spike gave her some disks that were supposed to have information on Adam."

For the rest of the drive, Tara filled the brunette in on everything they knew about Adam, the Initiative, and their thoughts on what nefarious plan the monster had for Sunnydale. They pulled into the dorm parking lot shortly after daybreak. "Hey," Tara said, shaking the hand she was still holding. "Remember what I said? I won't let anyone hurt you."

Reluctantly, Faith nodded.

"I'm going to cast a glamour on you so you can get safely into the building. We have to hurry, though. It's a difficult spell and I won't be able to maintain it for long." Tara closed her eyes, drawing in energy from natural elements around her. She whispered a short incantation, and glanced at her companion. "OK, let's go."

They hurried into the building. "You better lead, Blondie. I don't know where I'm going." Tara nodded and moved into the lead. Faith was ashamed of herself, but couldn't help checking out the witch as they climbed the stairs. _Not bad. Wonder how Red could've thrown that away?_

As soon as they entered Tara's room, the witch closed the door and released the glamour. She sagged against the door, feeling the energy drain from her, returning safely to the ground.

"You OK, Tara?"

Tara smiled at the worry in the tone. "I'll be fine. I'm just a little low on reserves right now. Why don't you make yourself comfortable while I go take a shower? I didn't want to take the time at Angel's." She quickly gathered her supplies and a fresh change of clothes. "Be right back."

Faith spent a few minutes casually inspecting Tara's things after she left. Other than some old books in weird writing, the Slayer didn't find much of interest. She shrugged out of her jacket and sat down on the bed, thinking about the information Tara had given her on the trip to Sunnydale. She was startled out of her thoughts by a knock at the door. Grinning, she bounded to the door, flinging it open. "Forget your key, Blondie?"


	11. Chapter 11

"Hello, Faith," Joyce greeted the stunned Slayer. Faith didn't respond. "I thought I should talk with Tara. Can I come in?"

The brunette moved back, opening the door wider. She followed the eldest Summers into the small room. Mrs. Summers sat down at Tara's desk. Uncomfortable and trying not to show it, Faith sat on the bed, back resting against the headboard.

"It's good that you're here, too," Joyce began. She hesitated before continuing. "You know, we seem to have reversed positions." At Faith's look of confusion, she explained. "The last time we met, you were here, and I was on the bed."

"Oh." There really wasn't anything else the Slayer could say.

After waiting for more commentary – and not receiving it – the older woman sighed. "I wanted to thank you, and I need to apologize, too."

"Mrs. S…I mean, Mrs. Summers, you don't – "

"Be quiet, Faith." Joyce's voice was quiet, but effective. The Slayer lapsed into a brooding silence. "I don't know what happened to turn you against Buffy and her friends. Someday, maybe you'll tell me. But I do know that you took a huge risk coming to Willow the other night." Seeing the girl start to speak, Joyce raised an eyebrow and stared at Faith until she slumped back against the wall, lips pressed tightly together.

"You were right the night you took me hostage. Buffy and I had drifted apart. She moved out, and I got left behind. It didn't matter that we lived in the same town; we might as well have been continents apart. It's hard to admit it, but I rarely know what goes on in Buffy's life. So I owe you a great deal for trying to warn us about her state of mind."

Faith glanced at Mrs. Summers, gauging her mood. Sensing the ban had been lifted, at least momentarily, she said quietly, "I knew what B was goin' through. Spend too long in your own head, wondering about the meaning of life – she was gonna either end up dead or taking a walk on the dark side. Couldn't let that happen. I knew Red and the gang would be able to help her out."

"They're trying." Joyce was silent for a minute. "Faith, this may not be the right time…I owe you an apology for how I treated you when you first came to Sunnydale."

"What? Mrs. S, you were great. I mean, you invited me over for dinner. Hell, you and B even let me be a part of your Christmas that one year."

"But I didn't understand things then." Joyce could tell Faith didn't get the point. "That was a really bad year for the Summers family. Buffy had just gotten back after running away; I had just discovered the Slaying and wasn't handling it very well; and then you showed up." The older woman leaned forward, resting her head in her hands. "I don't know how I felt about you as a person. I only saw the Slayer. You were Buffy's chance to get out of the business. You were the answer to all of my prayers.

"When things went wrong between you and the Scoobies, I think I could have killed you," the blonde continued.

Faith was glad Joyce was holding her head and looking at the ground. She had known she would find no forgiveness for her recent actions, but Mrs. Summers' comment was devastating. Despite her best intentions, she couldn't hold the tears inside anymore.

Mrs. Summers ran shaky hands through her hair. "I talked with Willow late last night. She said something that made me reevaluate you and what you've done. Willow was convinced that, although Buffy is struggling with being the Slayer, she still _is_ the Slayer. Buffy can't quit, no matter how much she wants to. I think you feel the same way." Joyce leaned back in the chair and looked at the brunette on the bed. Tears streamed steadily down the girl's cheeks as they stared at each other in silence.

"You weren't checking Buffy's mail that night in my room. You were using my credit card," Joyce said as she got up and moved slowly toward the bed. "So tell me, Faith. Why didn't you just get on that plane? How did you end up in the church with Buffy?"

The Slayer tried to answer, but couldn't find the words to explain. She simply shook her head and fought to regain control of her runaway emotions.

Joyce sat down next Faith. "I'm pretty sure I know why you didn't get on that plane. You couldn't, could you, Faith?" she said to the girl. "You heard about those vampires and the part of you that was still a Slayer wouldn't let you leave."

The brunette didn't answer. Joyce's relentless questioning had her on emotional overload. She closed her eyes, trying to block out the memories of her indiscretions. Arms wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her into a tight embrace and the last of her control vanished. Sobs tore through her, garbled apologies and explanations mingling with the sounds of grief. Her grief raged until lingering exhaustion and emotional upheaval dragged her into sleep.

Feeling the Slayer relax against her, Joyce used a shaking hand to wipe away her own tears. _Whatever it takes, Faith, I'll make sure you get the help you need. Just like you got help for Buffy._

Willow glanced from her computer screen to the sleeping Slayer for the thousandth time that hour. Slayer Watching was far more entertaining than the failed algorithms that covered her laptop with melting gibberish. She'd been at this for over ten hours. Nothing worked. If she wasn't so worried about her friend facing Adam unprepared, even the talented hacker might have admitted breaking the encryption was impossible. But there was no way Willow was going to let Buffy go into battle unprepared. Sighing, she looked away from the resting blonde and prodded her tired mind into finding a new algorithm.

Another hour passed with no results. The redhead growled under her breath. _What was I thinking? Sure, Buffy, no problem. I'll just crack the encryption on a top secret project planned by a black-ops para-military operation. Have it all ready for you when you wake up._ Willow cursed her optimism and dreaded telling Buffy she didn't have the promised answers. Stretching out her back, she started to close the computer screen when something caught her eye. The shifting, random pattern of letters and symbols was gone. In their place was a crystal clear diagram of Adam. _I'm dreaming. I've got to be. How…_ Clicking through the large document file, Willow realized this wasn't a dream. The files were really readable. Grinning madly, the hacker began to take notes.

"Will? Hey, um, Will? Come on, wake up."

Mumbling incoherently, the redhead ignored the insistent voice and tried to go back to sleep. Unfortunately, the voice kept insisting that she get up. She pried one eye open to glare at the source – Buffy. The Slayer had a quirk to her smile that guaranteed Willow was in for some ribbing.

"If I hadn't heard the snores, I might have thought you were dead." Yep. There it was – the teasing, lilting tone.

"How could you have heard anything," Willow fired back. "You've been asleep for," she checked the clock on the wall, "almost fourteen hours. Besides, I think I deserve a little nap. I told you I'd have answers; boy do I have answers." She waved her notebook at the bed-ridden blonde.

Buffy's smile widened. "I should probably tell you that I had no doubts, but you might think I was calling you reliable again."

The redhead giggled. "Afraid of meeting Vamp Me again, Slayer?" Willow cocked her head. "Too bad I didn't keep the outfit. I could've used it to get you to appreciate all my hard work."

"No way, Wills. I learned my lesson that time. No taking the Ultimate Scooby for granted. Not gonna happen again." Buffy's smile dimmed, and her voice was far more serious when she spoke next. "So, tell me what I have to do to beat Adam."

"_We_," Willow stressed, "have to find a hidden lab inside the Initiative. According to the maps on the disk, it's behind Room 314."

"OK. So we sneak through an underground military post past dozens of heavily armed soldiers and a load of captive demons – check. Then what? How do we beat the bad guy waiting for us?" Willow didn't like the downward swing in Buffy's emotions.

"Oops! Did I forget to mention Tara found this great spell?"

"Yeah, Will. You did. What spell?"

"Well, it's called an enjoining spell and it will turn you into Super Buffy so you can send Adam to the junkyard."

The blonde considered that for a moment. "In case you missed it, I'm not really up to par."

Willow frowned at her friend. "Hey, Buffy. Trust me, OK? The enjoining spell will take care of Adam, and, with the information on the disk, we know exactly where to look for the sicko."

The Slayer looked stubborn for a moment, but, finding a similar expression on Willow's face, gave up. "Right. You're right. So, Adam is toast. Got it." She peered at the rumpled-looking witch seated against the bed. "Where's mom and the rest of the Scoobies?"

The question had been casual, but everything changed when the Slayer saw Willow's reaction. First, she turned ghostly white. Then color flooded back into her face, turning it a shade of red just this side of purple. The girl's mouth opened and closed several times. No sound ever emerged.

"'Kay, Will. That was certainly interesting. You wanna tell me what's going on?"

"Not really," her friend mumbled.

"Maybe you'll recognize this…You know you can't keep a secret from me." Buffy relaxed slightly as the redhead laughed. "It can't be that bad. I mean, unless there's another Big Bad in town besides Adam."

"Well, that depends on whether you consider Faith to be a Big Bad," Willow replied.

"What?!" Buffy tried to sit up and gasped at the pain flaring along her spine. "Damn. Oh, damn that hurts." She lay back against the pillow and tried to breathe through the agony. "OK, Willow Rosenberg, you better tell me the whole story."


	12. Chapter 12

Taking a deep breath, Willow began, "Well, I don't know if Faith is in Sunnydale right now. Tara was going to try bringing her back."

Buffy's heartfelt growl sent her scrambling for explanations. Even though she had told this story to Giles and Mrs. Summers, it hadn't gotten any easier. "Um, after the fight at the church, I headed back to the dorm to do some research for Giles. Only when I got there, Faith was waiting for me." The Slayer hadn't moved since Willow began, but the witch could feel the tension increase. As she continued, her words picked up speed and started to run together. "She didn't try to hurt me, really, but I bound her to the bed and just then Tara showed up and Faith told both of us that she was worried about you. I didn't believe her – I mean, come on, it was Faith. But Tara can read auras and she said Faith wasn't lying. So we talked for a bit and she said that you hadn't really been fighting hard at the church and she thought maybe you might be sui-suicidal."

Willow finally paused for breath. The silence in the room was suffocating. She could hear Buffy breathing rapidly and a quick glance showed the Slayer was flushed. The really scary part, though, was that the blonde hadn't yet said anything. "Buffy? I didn't believe her. I didn't." The witch was quick to reassure her friend.

"What else did she say?" Buffy's voice was cold.

"Nothing, I swear. She freaked out because she felt you coming back into the dorms, and she ran away."

More silence. Willow's first instinct was to fill the verbal void with sound, but she managed to control the impulse. Finally, the Slayer continued. "So Faith, the same Faith who tried to kill all of us at one time or another, comes to you with this story about my fragile emotional state. Why would anyone, even Faith, think I was trying to kill myself?"

"I don't think any of us really did. But, Buffy, you've been acting really depressed and telling me you didn't want to be a Slayer anymore. We both know you don't get to resign from the job. What was I supposed to think?" The redhead could see her words hit the Slayer hard. She continued in a softer tone, "Sweetie, we're all just worried about you. Things are so different this year. We're all kinda going our own ways, and Faith really scared us – and not in her usual 'I'm going to gut you with my big knife' way."

Buffy's eyes were closed. She looked tiny in the large bed, monitors looming over her. "So, even though you didn't believe I threw the fight with Adam, you still thought you had to bring back the murdering part of the Chosen Two to handle the final showdown."

"No! No! And more no!" Willow jumped out of the chair and carefully crawled onto the bed next to the blonde. "Pretty much Tara was the only one who wanted Faith here." The witch lay pressed against Buffy, gently stroking her cheek. "In fact, Tara and I - well, to be honest, I said a lot of nasty things to Tara, and she left yesterday. I haven't talked to her since. I don't even know if she still wants to help us."

"What about the rest of the gang?" Buffy asked quietly.

"Um, just a different set of stupid comments with the same result." Willow rested her head against the Slayer's shoulder. "It wasn't my finest moment." A warm hand grasped the fingers moving against the blonde's face. The witch looked up. Hazel eyes stared back, misted with tears, but steady and supportive.

"Doesn't sound like either of us was at our best." A small smile touched Buffy's lips. "Have you tried calling Tara to see if she found Faith?"

Willow was surprised by the question, but answered, "No, I thought she…" At the slightly raised eyebrow, she amended, "I needed a little time to cool off and get my head together."

"Hmmm, kinda let the red hair take over, Wills?"

The redhead laughed slightly. "Yeah. Although, it really wasn't the hair, Buffy. I knew what I was doing, and I chose the most hurtful words I could to make my points. Except for Xander, really. He's feeling left out and like he's not part of the team."

"He'll be back. The Scooby gang has survived a lot in the last four years. We just need to give him some time and then remind him how much we love him." Buffy twitched her shoulder, getting the witch to look at her. "Speaking of telling people you love them, have you told Tara yet?"

"Told Tara what, Buffy?" Willow hoped she didn't sound as nervous as she felt. The reproving look on her friend's face, though, let her know she hadn't been successful.

"It's been pretty clear she means a lot to you, Will. You can't let this argument ruin that."

The witch lay her had back on the Slayer's shoulder. "Tara's special, Buffy. I mean, I could tell that right away at the wanna-Blessed-Be meeting. And – and we've gotten really close. But it's complicated."

"Complicated 'cause she's a girl, or complicated 'cause of someone else?"

"Ah, I'm not really sure," Willow said, sounding miserable. "I don't think it's the girl-girl thing. I mean, I've had a while to get used to that. It's hard, though, because I know Tara wants more, and I've been holding back."

"Hmmm. Then maybe you're still pining for someone else." Buffy rested her cheek against the tousled red hair. "Still missing Oz?"

"Buffy, I loved Oz. What we had was great, but…" The witch hunted for words. "Our relationship was comfortable, but I don't think it would ever have lasted. Oz was too afraid of hurting me, and he was never OK with all of us knowing about his wolf. Sometimes, I feel the same way about Tara. I mean, sure, no wolf, but it's still just comfortable. There's friendship and affection." She could feel herself blush at having this conversation with the Slayer. "But no real flaming passion. Tingles, yeah, maybe even a wild spark or two, but no forest fires."

Breathing deeply, eyes getting heavy, the Slayer offered some advice. "Well, Will, listen to the voice of experience. Dating someone you know isn't the one, for whatever reason, never ends with goodness. You need to talk to her and explain what you're feeling." She yawned. "We also need to find out whether she was able to find Faith. You trusted her once, Willow. If she's right about Faith, then we need to get everyone on board. We're always strongest together." Buffy could feel the witch relax against her and realized they were both near sleep. Still, she had to add, "It doesn't mean we trust or forgive Faith, though, we just need her to deal with Adam…"

Tara walked into the dorm room and stopped in shock at the sight of the two women cuddling on the bed. She opened her mouth, but then closed it again when Joyce shook her head. Still rooted in place, the witch watched as the older blonde gently untangled from the sleeping Slayer and motioned for Tara to step outside. They closed the door behind them.

"Mrs. Sum-Summers, what ha-happened with Faith?"

Joyce sighed. "I came to talk to you, and ended up having a bit of a heart-to-heart with Faith." She looked around. "I don't want to be away from the hospital too long, but there are a few things I need to ask you."

Tara ducked her head, hair falling forward to hide her eyes. "Sure, Mrs. Summers."

"Originally, I came to see if you needed help finding Faith. But, now, I wonder just what it is you see in her. Willow mentioned you see auras and that you trusted Faith to do the right thing. Why?"

"I d-don't th-think I sh-should tell you th-that."

"You talked with Rupert and Willow."

Tara nodded reluctantly, still shielded by a curtain of hair. "I did, but only to t-tell them Faith wasn't lying. I w-wouldn't tell th-them anything else."

"Hmmm. So you see more than just surface emotions."

Tara's head came up in shock.

Joyce laughed quietly. "I may not always be in the thick of things, but my daughter's best friend is a witch. I've learned a lot just from eavesdropping." She sobered quickly. "I wanted to tell you I supported your plan to bring Faith back. Since she's already here, it's time to get the rest of the gang behind her."

"Do y-you th-think that's possible?" Tara cursed the returning stutter. She'd been almost free of it the past few days, but being around Buffy's mother was bringing it back.

"If it were just you and Faith, probably not." The older blonde smiled reassuringly. "I'm your secret weapon. Why don't you get some rest? I'll head back to the hospital and check on things. Can you get Faith safely to the hospital around seven this evening? That'll give me some time to get Rupert and Xander there and it will be easier for Faith to avoid being seen."

"OK." Tara was far too tired to argue, and it felt good to know someone else realized Faith wasn't beyond salvation.

Joyce touched her lightly on the shoulder before walking away. Almost swaying with exhaustion, the witch silently reopened the door and crept in. Her caution wasn't necessary. The brunette Slayer was sleeping heavily and remained unaware of the movement. Tara set her shower supplies on the floor, shucked her robe, and climbed into bed with Faith. She kept a small distance between them, not wanting to crowd the other girl. After a few changes in position, Tara drifted into sleep.

The blonde witch woke slowly, her senses tingling. Keeping her breathing deep, she peered through her lashes, searching for the cause. Blue eyes collided with brown. "Hey, Blondie." The Slayer's voiced rumbled over her.

"Faith," Tara groaned the name in protest. "Go back to sleep. Too early to be up."

The brunette chuckled in response. "Ain't early anymore. Nearly two in the afternoon."

Tara rolled over and glared at the laughing Slayer. "Faith," she said warningly, "remember I can tie your ass to this bed with just a few simple words."

Faith moved suddenly closer. "Well, then, Blondie, guess I'll have to find a way to keep you from saying the spell." Warm lips pressed against the witch's. At first, Faith seemed content with just the light contact. However, when the blonde didn't move away, the Slayer deepened the kiss, tongue demanding entrance.

Tara's hands caressed the Slayer's lower back before slowly sliding up to tangle in the brunette curls.

With the witch's tacit permission, any restraint Faith felt disappeared. A low groan tore from her, and she pulled back from Tara's lips in order to trail light, teasing kisses down the long, pale throat. When she reached the blonde's pulse point, the Slayer smiled against the skin and began gently sucking the flesh. Tara arched sharply against her at the feeling, hands nearly tearing at the hair in her grasp.

"Feels good, don't it, T," Faith murmured. The brunette brought her hands to Tara's shirt and slowly slid it upward, baring the witch from waist to shoulders. Reveling in the sight of milky skin topped with hardening pink nipples, Faith held herself above the heavily breathing blonde. Leaning in, she blew across the puckered flesh, causing the girl beneath her to shiver and moan. Dimples peeking out, the Slayer laved Tara's left nipple before drawing the flesh into her mouth, catching the hardened nub between her teeth.

"Faith," Tara groaned. "Faith, s-stop."

Pausing in the act of nibbling the witch's breast, Faith glanced up into hazy blue eyes.

"We ca-can't do this, sweetie."

The Slayer released the tender flesh and leaned up on an elbow. "Why the hell not, Blondie? You ain't seeing Red anymore. What's stopping us from having a little fun?"


	13. Chapter 13

Tara looked up at the Slayer. "No, Faith, I'm not with Willow anymore." Reaching up a hand, she traced the outline of the brunette's lips. "But this really isn't a good time for either of us."

The younger girl captured the finger between her teeth. She ran a warm, wet tongue over the tip before releasing it. "Seems like the best time to me, T. What's holding you back?" The Slayer lowered her head. "Come on, Blondie, you were right there with me." She didn't touch the witch, but stared soulfully into blue eyes, willing the blonde to let her continue.

It seemed the Dark Slayer might get her wish. Tara raised her head and caught the pouting lips in a fierce kiss. They were both panting when the kiss ended. "Don't ever think I don't want you, Faith. But we can't do this right now. We need to focus on taking care of Adam."

The brunette above her groaned. "Hell, T, I've never been one for postponing things. Willow musta forgot to tell you my motto is 'want, take, have.'"

Laughing, Tara cupped Faith breasts. "Well, this time is different. You can want right now. But the taking and having will happen after we defeat the Big Bad." She sobered slightly. Still caressing the Slayer through the shirt, the witch went on. "We also need to take care of you, Sweetie."

Faith was too focused on the pleasure burning through her body to understand Tara's statement at first. When the words finally filtered through the haze of desire, she ground out, "What are you talking about, Blondie? And, before you answer, you might want to move those hands. Can't think when you do that and I'm pretty sure you aren't going to 'take care of me' right now. Save it for later?"

"Sorry, Faith." Tara slid her hands down to rest on the Slayer's hips. When the brunette arched an eyebrow, the witch grinned. "OK. I'm not really sorry, but I will stop. How's that?"

"It'll have to do, T." Faith dropped down to lie beside Tara. "So, what's on the agenda for today? Cause whatever is it, has to include a shower and some food."

"Ah, that's going to be difficult."

"Why, this dump don't have hot water?"

Tara shook her head at the Slayer. "Plenty of hot water, just no way to get you down the hall without being seen."

Faith stiffened at the witch's words. _Damn, how the hell did I forget that?_ Pulling back from Tara, the younger girl got off the bed. "No problem. Guess that means we ain't going out for dinner, huh?"

The blonde watched the transformation in the other girl. All of Faith's emotions had been closed off. The witch could still see them in the Slayer's aura, but her physical expression contained nothing but bravado. "Faith…"

"Look, Blondie, just forget it, OK?"

Tara didn't want to forget it, but, as she had reminded Faith, it wasn't the right time. "For now, Faith. After this is over, I promise we're going to sit down and talk." Seeing the Slayer scowl, she said forcefully, "I mean it, Faith. You can't run forever."

The brunette relaxed slightly. "Sounding a lot like Angel, there, T. I'm here to take care of things for B. Got no plans for leaving before she's back on her feet. But I'm not really built for heart-to-hearts." She dropped into the desk chair. "So, you got any food in that fridge?"

"Not really. It's too small to hold much." Tara was glad for the change in intensity. "Let me put on some clothes and I'll go grab us something."

"Thanks. Been awhile since that sandwich in L.A." Faith's leg bounced frantically up and down. "Any idea when I'll see some action? Not looking forward to being stuck here for too long."

Looking down, Tara replied, "Not really. But I t-talked to Mrs. Sum-Summers this morning. She wants us to be at the hospital at 7:00 tonight. I'll use a spell to cloak you like I did this morning. I'm sure W-Willow has the information from the disks by now."

The Slayer jumped up from the chair and began pacing. "So, I'm stuck here for the next four hours or so, huh?"

"I'm sorry, Faith."

"Not your problem, Blondie. Did some really stupid shit last year." The brunette stalked from one end of the tiny room to another. "Just, I'm not real good with doing nothing. Now that I'm bouncing back from my eight month nap, got a lot of energy to burn."

"As long as you're going to be OK, Faith," Tara said uncertainly. Looking closely at the younger girl, the witch noticed that her emotions were a steady yellow-orange. The Slayer was a tightly wound mass of frustrated energy. "If-if you can just wait until I get back, maybe I c-can do another glamour so you can go out."

Faith paused mid step and stared hard at the blonde. "Thought you said that took a lot of energy." Seeing the witch blush, she laughed harshly. "Oh, hell, no, T. Not letting you burn yourself out just so I can run around Sunnydale."

The fierce light in the other girl's eyes told Tara there would be no negotiation. "Fine, have it your way. But, when I get back, there better not be any broken furniture or wear marks on the floor."

Despite her continuing frustration, Faith couldn't hold back a laugh at the mock sternness in the words. "Sure, T, let me guess…you'll tie my ass to the bed if I do anything dumb while you're gone."

"Exactly, Slayer." Tara quickly exchanged her sleepwear for regular clothing, glowering at the attentive brunette. "You could look the other way, you know."

"Yeah, but the view is much better in this direction," Faith leered. _Fuck, I can't believe I let her put a stop to earlier._ She watched the blonde intently, noticing the flush creeping up her neck and the darkening of her blue eyes. Sucking in a sharp breath, the Slayer spun away from temptation. "Better get going, Blondie. I'm hungry," she rasped.

"I'll be back," the witch said, hurrying around the other girl. "Anything in particular you want?" The statement hung in the air.

"Go, Tara. Just go."

Eyes wide, Tara nodded and fled the room.

Buffy woke with a start, images of Adam dissipating as the dreams faded. Heart pounding in remembered fear, she scanned the room for threats. The only sign of life was the sleeping witch in her arms. The clock on the wall read a little after twelve, but she wasn't sure if that meant morning or afternoon.

Taking a deep breath to help slow her racing pulse, the Slayer shifted slightly to relieve her stiffened muscles. Willow mumbled slightly, but didn't wake. In fact, she seemed to move in closer, head resting just below the blonde's chin. Relaxing back into the pillow, Buffy rested her chin on the red hair tickling her throat. Despite the warm drowsiness sapping her strength, the blonde couldn't get back to sleep. Bits of her earlier conversation with Willow played back.

//" …when I got there, Faith was waiting for me… she said that you hadn't really been fighting hard at the church and she thought maybe you might be sui-suicidal."//

The words, uttered in Willowbabble, haunted the Slayer. Was Faith right? Had she been giving less than her all? _Wouldn't I know if I was suicidal? I mean, I'd have to actually decide to kill myself, right?_ Frustrated with her thoughts, she shifted a little too roughly.

A soft groan sounded from the sleeping redhead and vibrated through Buffy's chest. _Damn._ "Shh, Will. Everything's OK, just go back to sleep," the blonde murmured soothingly.

Unfortunately, Willow seemed to be struggling with her own inner demons. "No, no, Xan…watch out for the tadpoles."

Buffy tried to stifle her laughter, but failed miserably. _Tadpoles? Do I even want to know, Will?_

A bouncing pillow was not conducive to sleep, and Willow pried her eyes open to complain about the ruckus. When her half-opened eyes met those of the Slayer, though, the irritation fled. A smile lit the freckled features. "Hey, Buffy, we need to stop waking up like this. People might talk."

"Ooh, and that would be bad, how? I mean, you're looking pretty good these days, Will," the blonde teased. Her compliment ended in a grunt when a small hand smacked her shoulder. "Hey, ow." She stuck her lip out in a pout. "Come on, Will, I was being nice. Guess I could have mentioned the bed hair and the fact you've been wearing those clothes for at least two days straight."

Scowling at her friend, the witch moved away and propped herself next to the Slayer on her elbow. Head resting in her hand, Willow took a closer look at the girl next to her. "You could, and they'd all be true, I'm sure. Of course, you ain't looking so hot yourself, sweetie." The witch mentally closed her eyes in anguish when the laughter faded from Buffy's hazel eyes.

"Yeah, getting your ass handed to you by some metal freak isn't recommended for improving your hotness rating." The words held a hint of humor, but the look in the Slayer's eyes was bleak. A frown settled in and she lapsed into brooding silence.

_Damn, damn, damn. I should just stop talking. Every word out of my mouth in the last two days has hurt the people I love._ Ignoring the inner voice counseling silence, Willow said quietly, "You want to talk about what happened?"

Buffy shrugged, looking uncertain. Finally, she replied, "I did a lot of thinking this morning. About slaying, Riley, Adam…"

"You know you can tell me anything, right?" Willow asked.

"Yeah, Will. I know. It's just…I don't know. I can't – life has sucked lately. At first, I thought it was just college and not being able to enjoy college life. Slaying always got in the way. Either I couldn't go to a party or on a date, or I tried to do it all and I was so tired." A wan smile crept out. "I just wanted to scream that it wasn't fair. But it hasn't been fair since the day I got called."

"Why didn't you tell me any of this? We've been best friends since high school, Buffy. You always told me everything: the Master, Angel, all the stuff with Faith. Why not now?"

The blonde dropped her chin to her chest. "You were having so much fun. It was like college opened up so many doors. You weren't the shy little hacker in the fuzzy sweaters. You were the new, improved, confident Willow and I didn't want to interfere. You deserve a normal life, Will. As long as I'm around, you can't have that."

The redhead started to reassure the obviously upset Slayer when the meaning of Buffy's words sank in. Eyes widening in shock, Willow inched closer to the discomfited blonde. "Sweetie, you can't think that you're holding me back somehow."

"I just figured I needed to find a way to fit in. It was like sophomore year all over again. You know, fitting the slaying and life into the same twenty-four hour period. But in high school, there were boundaries. I knew where I needed to be and when I needed to be there. These last few months have been so different."

Rolling so that she lay on her stomach next to the Slayer, Willow said, "Buffy, different I understand. Remember me? Shy nerd girl in the ugly clothes? I cried nearly every day of school for ten years I was so miserable."

"You're not like that now."

"No – well, sometimes. But that is so not the point, Buffy. We were talking about you, and about why the slaying is suddenly so much harder to deal with. I mean, come on. You were sixteen, saving the world every night, lying to your mother and almost everyone you knew, _and_ pretending to be a typical underachieving high school student by day. Now, you have friends who help with the world saving; your mom is aware of your calling; and you have a boyfriend who knows and helps out. How can that be worse?" She rested her chin on the blonde's leg. "I know there's something else you aren't telling me."

"It's nothing, Will."

"Buffy!" The redhead knew she had to get her friend to talk. Pushing herself up, she moved to kneel against the Slayer's side. Grasping the lowered chin and pulling, Willow forced a reluctant Buffy to meet her eyes. "Not joking here, Buffy. Tell me what's really going on."

"I just – I really needed you to be there with me, for me."

"Buffy, I am here, no matter what."

"No, you don't understand," the blonde cried in frustration.

"Then help me understand!"

Looking terrified, Buffy nodded jerkily. A hand feathered through the wild red hair before closing gently on the tangled strands. Tugging Willow forward, the Slayer choked out, "I needed you with me, Will. Not with Oz, and not with Tara."


	14. Chapter 14

_I can't believe I'm doing this_, Buffy thought fuzzily as she brushed her lips over Willow's. She kept the contact light, but constant, giving the redhead plenty of opportunity to pull away. Willow had stiffened when Buffy had pulled her forward, but she wasn't resisting the teasing kisses. The blonde smiled into the next round of kisses and slowly applied more pressure. The sick, anxious feeling was gone. Buffy was sure she could defeat Adam right this very moment as adrenaline surged through her. Gripping Willow's shoulders, she pulled until the taller girl lay on top of her.

The change in position gave the Slayer better access. Her hands roamed up and down the other girl's back, intermittently sliding through the red hair. Eventually, the kisses slowed, and Willow pulled back to gaze down at Buffy.

"Buffy, not that I'm complaining, but what the hell is going on?"

The Slayer didn't want to talk. Talking meant that the redhead snuggled against her might not share her feelings. She avoided a reply by stretching up and recapturing Willow's lips in a heated kiss. It wasn't enough. Buffy needed more. She slid her hands down until they rested against the redhead's butt. Kneading roughly, she brought their lower bodies together and began a slow, circular grind. _Oh, yeah, Will. So good_. Even as her mind exulted at the contact, Buffy sensed something was wrong. Willow's hands pushed against her shoulders, trying to separate them. Panicking, the Slayer yanked her hands away from her friend.

"Oh, god, Will. I'm sorry. I didn't mean –"

"Hey, Buffy, no, stop. It's OK. It's just, we need to talk."

_Huh?_ The Slayer was confused. Her body screamed in frustration while her mind tried to process Willow's comment. "Alright," she managed, not really sure what she had agreed to. She'd do anything, anything at all to get the witch to kiss her again.

"Earth to Buffy, you in there?" Willow sounded amused. "Hmmm. Note to self, kissing the Slayer causes confusion and loss of voice. Think I should send a memo to the Council? They might need to research the situation, find a cure."

Pouting a little, Buffy mumbled. "Not nice, Will. You get me all hot and bothered and then you want to talk."

Willow sighed, looking sad. "I know, sweetie. I'm not exactly unaffected. But, I think you have some 'splaining to do." The witch ended her statement with a stern look. "Buffy, how long have you felt like this?"

"A while," Buffy responded vaguely. She groaned in despair as Willow gave her the dreaded "Resolve Face."

"Spill, Slayer."

"Damn, Will. When did you get so 'take charge?'" There was no answer, just a fiercer look from the redhead. "OK, OK. I get it. You want answers." She paused, trying to get her scattered thoughts together. "I guess I started to notice I felt more than friendly the night we turned into our costumes. You looked so hot in that outfit, and it was all for Xander. Kinda made me jealous."

"Really?" Willow's voice squeaked.

"Really, Will." Buffy dared to sneak a quick kiss.

"Buffy." The Slayer winced at the rebuke.

"You looked so cute, how could I resist?" the blonde pleaded her case.

Sighing, Willow held Buffy's gaze. "I am glad you think I am cute. I am even more glad that you want to kiss me. But enough with the avoiding the question."

Bowing to the inevitable, the blonde reluctantly continued. "I didn't understand then what I was feeling. There was Angel and things were already so messed up." Buffy shrugged slightly. "It was easier to ignore or chalk it up to post battle hornies."

"Were you ever planning on telling me?" the redhead asked quietly.

"I started to, once, after Oz left. But you were all with the setting me up with Riley deal."

Willow looked shocked. "Ooh, bad decision on my part, huh?"

Laughing, Buffy nodded. "Yeah, Rosenberg. What happened to that razor sharp intellect?"

"Must have taken a siesta. I mean, I was pretty out of it after the whole Veruca deal." Willow sobered. "God, Buffy, I feel so terrible."

"Why?" The Slayer asked, concerned.

"I just – because of me, you went through all of the stuff with Riley. You both got hurt because of the relationship, and Tara…I think I really did some damage yesterday."

"With what you said?"

Nodding, the witch answered, "She's never been really confident, and I told her I didn't trust her. If I'd just left well enough alone..."

"No, Will. You can't think like that." Buffy gently caressed the witch's face, wiping away the tears that had started to fall. "If I had told you how I felt back then, would you have been happy? Or would you have freaked that your best girl friend was fantasizing about you?"

Willow seemed unhappy at the question. "Um, probably the second option. I mean, still in boys' town then."

"See? We may have lost our friendship over my feelings. The whole Riley thing sucks, I'll admit…" Buffy trailed off, watching Willow closely.

The redhead still looked upset. "I guess. I just – I don't want anyone to get hurt, Buffy."

"Baby, no matter what, someone is going to get hurt. If you talk with Tara and apologize, though, maybe you'll be able to stay friends. I know you really like her, and I want you to be able to practice your spells with her."

"I hope she'll be OK, Buffy. I still can't believe the things I said to her," the witch lamented.

It was clear Willow wasn't going to move past the argument without help. Glancing at the redhead through her lashes, Buffy asked in a mock innocent tone, "So, Will, did I answer all your questions?"

Grinning at the obviously false innocence, Willow pretended to think. "Well, I suppose so. Why, did you want to talk about something else?"

"No," Buffy growled playfully. "Not interested in talking at all."

"That's good, then. Neither am I," the witch said in a rough voice. She rolled off the Slayer, ignoring the whine of protest, and settled on the bed next to Buffy. "Don't worry, baby, I'm not going away. I just needed a little more room to move." She ran a lazy hand across the blonde's cheek before moving with more purpose down to the top of the thin hospital blanket. Her hand snaked beneath the covering, stopping at Buffy's breast. "Hmm, what's this?" Willow asked coyly.

Buffy couldn't answer. She simply arched into the fingers pulling at her nipple. Through a haze of arousal, the Slayer heard Willow say something, but couldn't make out the words. Using all her will power, she ground out, "What did you say, Will?"

"I said," came a voice by the door, "this is not generally part of the proscribed treatment for seriously injured patients."

Faith picked up a book from Tara's bookshelf and flipped through the pages. _At least this one's in English_, she mused. Still, the Slayer wasn't interested in the magical text. Returning the book to its original spot, she rubbed her hands up and down her thighs, trying to contain the energy surging through her. Brown eyes impatiently scanned the room, looking for something, anything to do. This time was no different than the other dozen or so searches. _OK. Boring magic books, boring text books, some funky skirts and stuff in the closet. Geeze, Blondie, you need to get out more. Fuck. You don't even have a TV. Who doesn't have a TV?_ Scowling, the brunette stalked around the room again. When she returned to her starting point, the clock showed she'd killed another couple of minutes. So far, a whopping 40 minutes had passed since the witch ran from the room.

The Slayer made a frustrated sound. It was too much. Returning to full health meant the regular energy of her calling ripped through her veins. The earlier heavy petting session simply added to the problem. Bouncing in place, Faith took yet another look around the dorm room. This time, Tara's shower caddy and robe caught her eye. _Damn. It's just down the hall. Nobody'll notice me._ Ignoring the little Tara-voiced warning in her head, she quickly stripped off the borrowed clothes and donned the robe and wrapped a towel around her head. Wrinkling her nose, she flipped through the selection in Tara's closet. She wasn't about to wear one of the long, multi-colored skirts. Finally, the Slayer located an old, threadbare pair of jeans. Much better, even with the big sunflower embroidered on the thigh. A search of the dresser drawers yielded a T-shirt. Grabbing the shower supplies, Faith crept out of the room, making sure the door didn't lock behind her.

The hallway was empty. _Cool. T musta been worried for nothing._ Hoping the layout of this dorm matched Buffy's, Faith walked slowly down the hall, looking for the showers. Her luck ran out. There were no bathrooms in this part of the building. Turning around, the Slayer picked up her pace. She couldn't stand around in the corridor. As she hurried back toward Tara's room a tall blonde popped out of a nearby door.

She smiled at Faith. "Hey. Kinda late for a shower, isn't it?"

"Uh, yeah. Late night. Just got up," Faith answered quietly.

"Yeah, me, too. Got class, though, so no more sleep." The girl shrugged. "You staying with someone?"

Faith hesitated. _Fuck. Shut up already so I can get back to the room._ "With a friend." The blonde didn't leave, just stood there, smiling. With a sigh, the brunette continued, "Tara."

At the name, the girl smiled even more. "Hey, cool. She doesn't usually have visitors." She glanced at her watch and then frowned. "Damn. I really need to get to class."

"Um, before you go, could you point me in the direction of the showers? Can't seem to find them," Faith dared to ask.

"Oh, sure, just head back down past Tara's room. They're at that end of the hall on the left."

"Thanks." Faith watched the blonde trot toward the stairs before walking down the hall. This time, her efforts met with success. Sighing in relief, the Slayer stepped into one of the cubicles and turned on the hot water. She spent a few minutes just enjoying the water pounding down, relieving the last of the lingering stiffness before starting to wash off. Tara shouldn't be gone much longer and she wanted to be back before then.

After rinsing the last of the shampoo from her hair, Faith shut off the water and roughly toweled her hair and body. She stepped into the borrowed jeans, realizing too late that the pants were going to be a problem. The length was almost right, but they were going to land by her ankles if she let go of the waistband. Grumbling, she kept one hand tight to the material and struggled into the shirt one-handed. She couldn't get the towel wrapped back around her head, so she settled for simply laying it over her head like a veil. Picking up the rest of the supplies, the Slayer peered out of the shower room. No one appeared in the hall, so she moved hurriedly back to Tara's door. Turning the knob required all of her Slayer dexterity since one hand kept her clothed and the other held the shower caddy and robe. Finally, she managed to twist enough to unlatch the door and pushed into the room.

The first thing she noticed was a row of bags with food on the floor by the desk. But, despite the gnawing hunger that sprang to life, Faith was suddenly more interested in the witch huddled in the center of the bed, tears streaming down her face. "T, what's wrong?"


	15. Chapter 15

Tara looked up at the question. Faith stood just inside the door, head covered by a towel and her arms filled with shower supplies. At first, she couldn't think of an answer. However, that difficulty soon ended as the witch remember her first heart stopping reaction to Faith's disappearance. Leaping off the bed she marched toward the Slayer. "What's wrong? I'll tell you what's wrong, Faith. I got back and you weren't here."

The brunette actually backed away from the irate blonde, until her back was pressed against the closed door. "What part of 'it isn't safe for you to go out' did you not understand?" Tara demanded.

"Whoa, hold on a minute, Blondie. I just went down the hall. No one was around." And then, in a brief flash of unaccustomed honesty, the Slayer admitted, "Well, there was this one blonde chick, but she was in a hurry to get to class."

Tara glared at the unrepentant Slayer. "Faith," she said between tightly clenched teeth, "why are you back in Sunnydale?"

Looking confused, the younger girl answered, "'Cause B's outta commission for a while and you said you needed help with Adam."

"So, you are here to take over until Buffy's out of the hospital." Tara repeated.

"Yeah, T. I don't get the attitude. I'm still right here, waiting to be called off the bench." The Slayer moved from her position by the door and walked around the blonde. "Now we've got that all cleared up, can we eat? I'm starving."

Tara kept her back to the Slayer, getting her emotions back under control. _Getting mad isn't going to help_, the witch thought. _She doesn't see that getting caught means more than just jail time_. Finally, after a few deep breaths, she pivoted. Faith had put the robe back in the closet and hung the wet towel over the register to dry. She was pawing through the various bags, examining the meal options. The last of the witch's anger drained away as she laughed. "So, why didn't you just grab a belt to help keep those up?" she questioned, gesturing at the pants the Slayer was still holding on to her slight frame.

Smirking, Faith replied, "Didn't think about it until I was down in the shower room." The Slayer sat on the floor and spread several containers around her. "Better hurry, T. I wasn't kidding when I said I was hungry. If you don't get started, there may not be any left."

The witch joined the brunette on the floor and took a few of her favorites. She could tell the Slayer had a question from the way the younger girl would glance up and then quickly look away again. "If I have food on my clothes, just let me know. Otherwise, ask your question."

Surprisingly, Faith blushed. "OK. Um, I'm glad you're not mad anymore, but mind clueing me in on what got you so heated up a few minutes ago?"

_Goddess, I'm not sure either one of us is ready for where this conversation might lead_. Tara knew her feelings for the brash Slayer were moving quickly. After Willow, she didn't want to get too involved too fast, especially since Faith had mentioned her motto. The brown eyes gazing at her weren't going away without answers, though. "I'll try," she replied. "First, though, let me ask you a question. When you first got to Sunnydale and started working with Buffy, did you do the whole Scooby routine? You know, research, food runs, moral support?"

"Hell, no. I stayed in my crappy motel room until they called me up," Faith bitterly responded. She paused and looked away. "Alright, Blondie, that ain't entirely true. Me and B clicked right away; although, she never was comfortable with my attitude toward Slaying. Things were going great until my new Watcher showed up."

"Wesley?" Tara interrupted.

"Even Wes would have been an improvement over the first one. Gwendolyn Post. She showed up and kinda separated me from everyone. Told me I was special and I didn't need the gang's help." A wry smile twisted Faith's lips. "She was saying just what I wanted to hear. Me and B got sideways of each other pretty quick, and then I found out she was hiding Angel up at the manor. Long story short, my Watcher had been fired and had really come to Sunnydale to get some magical glove. After that, it was like I said. I warmed the bench until Giles thought B needed a breather or backup."

"Thanks for being honest with me, Faith," the witch said.

"Ah, hell, Blondie. Don't make a big deal out of it," the Slayer grumbled.

Putting away the leftover food, Tara looked over at the other girl. "It is a big deal, and it's part of the reason I was so mad."

"You were mad 'cause I lied to you?" If anything, Faith sounded even more confused.

"No, sweetie, it had nothing to do with you telling the truth. I was mad because you weren't thinking of anything beyond just taking a shower. You didn't consider what would've happened if someone had recognized you."

"Sunnydale PD isn't exactly brimming with talent, T. I would have been able to outrun them."

Frustration snaked through the witch, but she forced herself to say calmly, "Maybe. That isn't really the point, though. You came here to help Buffy and the rest of us defeat Adam. If you had to run from the police, or if you were sitting in a jail cell somewhere, who would be left to fight Adam?"

Finally, a glimmer of understanding lit Faith's brown eyes. "Oh. So if something happened to me, then Plan B wouldn't work and you don't have a Plan C."

"Oh, for Goddess' sake, Faith, I don't think of you as just 'Plan B,' Tara exclaimed. "Do you really think we only see you as a tool and not as a person?"

"Sure, Blondie," the Slayer shrugged. "Just ask Giles. That's exactly how the Council views Slayers. We serve a purpose, for a while, and then we die and they get a new one."

Tara wasn't sure if she wanted to cry, scream, or be sick. The younger girl believed the words she'd just uttered. No doubt, no hesitation, no anger. To Faith, the truth of those words was absolute. "I don't even know what to say to that," the witch stammered.

"Nothing to say," Faith replied casually. Cocking an eyebrow at the cartons next to the blonde, she asked, "You want to save that?" She flashed a dimpled smile. "I'm pretty sure you mentioned your fridge is too small for food."

In a distracted tone, the witch said, "Go ahead," and scooted the food toward the Slayer. Still mulling over the last few minutes of conversation, she idly watched Faith devour the last of the food. "Faith?"

"Yeah?"

"When all this is over, we really need to talk."

Both girls froze. Willow's hand still rested on Buffy's breast beneath the blanket, and she devoutly hoped the thin cotton masked exactly what had been going on. She cast wide green eyes at the Slayer, begging silently for help.

The blonde came to her aid, just like always. "Hey, Mom. Ah, Doctor…?" Although she was flushed, Buffy's voice was calm, like she got caught in compromising positions every day.

"Girls, this is Doctor Gardner. He's here to give us some more information about Buffy's condition." Joyce valiantly tried to swallow her grin. Willow hadn't moved since they'd interrupted the intimate exchange and she looked terrified. Her daughter, on the other hand, was watching her intently, gauging her reaction to the scene she'd witnessed. Deciding to tease the new couple a bit, the older Summers commented, "Willow, dear, I think you forgot to mention a few things when we talked last night. When were you going to tell me about your new girlfriend?"

Willow gave a choked whimper and tried to bury her flaming face in Buffy's neck. "Mom! That's so not nice," the Slayer said.

"Hmmm, maybe not. But I'm your mother. It's my duty to make sure Willow has the proper intentions in mind before I can give you my blessing." Joyce smiled fully at the couple. "Now, Willow, why don't you stop trying to meld with my daughter and get off the bed, OK? I'd like to at least pretend Buffy is pure when you go to your marriage bed."

The redhead catapulted off the bed. Still avoiding eye contact, she sat down in the chair she had vacated earlier.

"Ms. Summers, you were very lucky. The puncture wound in your side missed any vital organs. The torn muscles will be painful, but will heal in time. I am more concerned with the swelling along your spine," the doctor said. He was a tall man with a patchy goatee. Buffy wasn't sure if it was his dry, monotone delivery or the serious nature of the message, but she disliked him instantly. "So far, we haven't found any damage to the spine itself, but until the swelling goes down, there is a danger of further injury."

"But, I'm healing. This isn't a permanent thing," Buffy said.

"Not permanent, no. But you are looking at a lengthy recovery process. Possibly as long as six weeks. During that time, if you are making proper progress, you'll need to see a physical therapist to strengthen the damaged muscles."

"Six weeks?" Willow finally recovered her voice. "But-" she clamped her mouth shut. _Six weeks? We can't wait that long. We have to go after Adam soon._

"It's OK, Willow. I'm sure things won't take that long. You know me, I heal pretty quickly," Buffy tried to reassure the redhead that she would be ready for duty sooner than the doctor thought.

"I admire your optimism, Ms. Summers. It will go a long in helping the recovery process," he nodded to Joyce. "If you have further questions, I'll check in some time tomorrow. We'll see about scheduling the therapy then."

"Thank you," the older woman murmured. She waited until the doctor had gone, closing the door behind him.

An uncomfortable silence filled the room. "Mom –" Buffy began. She stopped when her mother raised a hand.

"Don't, Buffy. Teasing aside, what happens between you and Willow is your business. I think I've learned a few things over the years." Joyce walked over and put a comforting hand on the redhead's shoulder. "I'm sorry if I embarrassed you. But, come on, girls, it was priceless."

The young witch giggled suddenly. "Yeah, Mrs. Summers. I'm just glad you came in when you did. We kind of got carried away." She glanced up at Joyce with an apologetic smile. "This wasn't really how I thought we would tell you. Besides, we," she looked shyly at Buffy, "haven't really had a chance to work out all the details ourselves."

"It looks like I'll have plenty of downtime to get used to the new 'us,' though," the Slayer commented, grasping Willow's hand. She tried to smile. "I guess we really need to talk to Tara about other options."

The novice witch grimaced. "Oh, boy. I'm so not looking forward to that conversation. I've got some serious apologizing to do."

"You'll get your chance soon, Willow. Mr. Giles and Xander are on their way. Faith and Tara will be here around seven." Ignoring the girls' shocked expressions, Joyce continued calmly. "It's time this family made its peace."


	16. Chapter 16

"Maybe you're right, Mom," Buffy smiled at her mother's look of disbelief. "Not joking, really. Tara was able to see it wasn't me in my body at the Bronze so she must be pretty good at seeing auras or whatever." The Slayer looked at the redhead next to the bed. "We're going to have to trust her about Faith, no matter what. I'm not ready to go after Adam myself." She stroked Willow's face. "I'm thinking it's time we all grew up, Will. Let the past go."

"But, Buffy-"

"No, Will." The Slayer interrupted the flustered girl. "We need Faith, and somehow Tara convinced her to come back and help out. Be honest, baby, if you were Faith, knowing how much we all hate you, would you come back? I would have laughed at Tara and kept on running."

"Faith didn't have a choice about coming back." Joyce smiled faintly at the pair of confused looks she received. "Whatever else she may have done, Faith is still a Slayer. She can't ignore that any more than you can, Buffy."

"She ignored it just fine while she was working for the Mayor," Willow snapped. "I mean, hello, she held me at knifepoint and she killed that professor."

The older Summers frowned. "Well, I don't know the whole story. Someone," she flicked a sharp glance at her daughter, "keeps me out of the loop on most things. But I saw her today. She's not doing very well with being here." Joyce hesitated. She didn't want to divulge the brunette Slayer's breakdown, but she needed to find a way to get Willow to back down from her anti-Faith stance. "Look, Willow, whatever reasons you have for not liking Faith, you have to put them aside right now." Without shame, the blonde woman used her trump card. "It's either Faith or Buffy heading out to face Adam. Make your choice."

The young witch looked less than pleased. She frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. "I don't trust her."

Sharing a look with her mother, Buffy fielded this objection. "Baby, I get that you don't trust her. But you told me earlier you trusted Tara. Has Tara ever lied to you? Been wrong when she's read someone's aura?" Buffy slowly rolled onto her side so she could face the redhead. "You and me – we can't see what Tara does. What if she's right about Faith? Can we risk letting a bunch of people die just because we're too stubborn to admit we're wrong?"

Staring at the bedridden blonde, Willow mulled over what she'd just heard. Finally, reluctantly, she replied, "I guess you're right. Tara is a really powerful witch. She told Giles earlier that she can see surface emotions in auras, but I think she really sees more than that. Plus, she doesn't give her trust very easily." She looked away from Buffy momentarily, thinking about some of the stories the blonde witch had told her about her family. "I'll shelve my feelings about Faith until after Adam's been destroyed."

The admission was reluctant, but Joyce relaxed slightly. "Good. Now we just need to get the men on board before Faith and Tara arrive."

Swallowing a mouthful of food, Faith smirked. "Yeah, Blondie. I think you've said that before. You're gonna be awfully busy after the big showdown."

Tara raised an eyebrow questioningly. "I am?"

"Hell, yeah. That's twice you told me we gotta have a big heart to heart once the Tin Man's out of the way. And," the smirk got bigger, "we have a little unfinished business to take care of."

The blonde could feel her face heat, but responded smartly, "It seems _we_ are going to be busy, then. I'm not doing either of those activities alone." The brunette nearly choked on her food as she laughed. "Now," Tara glanced at the clock, "we have a couple of hours before we need to leave for the hospital. Although my power reserves are in better shape than this morning, I'm going to need to do some meditation." She smiled teasingly at the still eating brunette. "We also need to see what we can do about your clothes."

"No worries, T. I'll just use one of your belts," Faith replied.

"I don't think you want to go to the meeting in my retro-60s flower power pants," the witch commented. "Somehow, it takes away from your bad girl, evil killing persona."

Finishing up the last of the leftovers, the Slayer stretched out on her stomach propping herself up on her crossed forearms. "Think it would keep Red from using her magic on me?" Despite the humorous tone, Tara could tell Faith was uneasy about the upcoming meeting. "I mean, if it keeps me in one piece, I'm willing to look like a hippie."

The blonde laughed at the vision of Faith in her embroidered bell bottoms and a paisley top, flower stuck behind one ear. "Maybe some other time," she said. _When we don't have an audience and you aren't trying to hide your emotions with jokes._ "I'll take your other clothes down to the laundry room. We should have enough time to run a load through." She climbed to her feet and began grabbing supplies and clothing.

Faith looked away from the witch. "Hey, Tara?"

Tara looked up in surprise. It was the first time since their initial meeting in the Bronze that the brunette had used her full name. "Yes, sweetie?" she asked, concerned.

"Thanks for all this." The younger girl moved slightly and waved a hand at the room. "I mean, you put yourself out on a limb for me. I –" she struggled to put her thoughts into words. "Just wanted to say thanks for trusting me enough to let me stay and helping me get back on the right side of the fight."

"It's my pleasure, Faith." Tara was very glad the embarrassed Slayer wasn't looking in her direction. The shy, hesitant words from the normally brash and confident brunette brought tears to her eyes. Blinking the tears back, the witch tried to diffuse the heavy emotion with humor. "Promise you won't sneak out for another shower or a trip to the Pump?" she asked, hand resting on the doorknob.

Dimples just peeking out, Faith nodded. "Sure, T. Don't want to cause any more waterworks today." With a chuckle, she continued, "Save 'em for when we meet with the Scoobs. Sure to be plenty of heavy hitting and nasty comments then."

Growling a little, Tara dropped her bundle of laundry and stalked toward the prone Slayer. "You know, I'm really hurt you still don't trust me to keep you safe," she said. "What do I need to do to prove that I won't let anyone," she emphasized the word, "hurt you?"

Startled at the blonde's vehemence, Faith sat up. "Whoa! Damn, Tara, I didn't mean anything. I was just trying to lighten things up."

"In case you missed it, I'm not laughing." The witch wasn't going to let this go so easily.

"Yeah, got that." Faith looked directly at the older girl for the first time since the aborted love making earlier. "T, I got no doubts you'll get between me and anyone trying to take me on." The brown eyes were filled with new emotions: fear, concern, and _maybe, just maybe_, Tara thought, something more intense than simple friendship.

"As long as we're clear on that point, Slayer." Tara stepped back, breaking the tension slightly.

"We're more than clear, Witch," Faith mocked the blonde's choice of names. "Now, since you said no hippie clothes and I don't really want to face the gang naked, can you go wash those clothes already?"

Shaking her head and laughing, Tara picked up the pile from the floor and headed out of the room,

Buffy fell asleep waiting for Giles and Xander. Sitting close and resting against the edge of the bed, Willow kept an uneasy vigil over the blonde. Periodically, she glanced at Mrs. Summers who sat perched on a chair across the room. Willow wanted to talk to her surrogate mother about the afternoon's startling revelations, but this didn't seem to be a good time. Contemplating the meeting coming up, the teen felt a leaden ball grow in the pit of her stomach. _What do I say to them? I mean, I didn't really mean everything the way it sounded, but, damn it, some of it was the truth_. Sighing and gently stoking the arm closest to her, Willow acknowledged that she was simply going to have to apologize and hope it was enough.

Nearly an hour passed before a light tapping sounded from the doorway. Giles and Xander stood there, both wearing hesitant expressions. Mrs. Summers walked over to them while Willow gently shook the Slayer. "Buffy? Come on, sweetie. The Scooby gang is here. It's time to talk," the witch tried. As she had noted the other morning when she woke wrapped in Buffy's arms, the blonde slept like the dead. Getting a bit more energetic in her shaking, Willow tried to wake Buffy. "Hey, Slayer, rise and shine. Xander and Giles are here to see you." Finally, she noted a change in the other girl's breathing. "That's it, sweetie. Open your eyes so we can get started."

Hazel eyes crept open. "Get started with what, Will?" The Slayer's voice was rough with sleep. "Didn't you get enough groping earlier?"

Willow's face exploded into flames at the husky teasing. Joyce snickered, while Giles and Xander seemed frozen in shock. "Um, no, sweetie. Remember the meeting with Xand and Giles? It's started without you."

Although Buffy's eyes widened a bit as her brain caught up with the witch's words, she smiled naughtily. "Too bad. Was wanting to pick up where we left off." Rubbing sleep from her eyes and carefully pushing into a more seated position, the Slayer greeted the two Scooby statues. "Hey, guys. Sorry about not being ready for the big meeting. Did Mom and Willow fill you in on everything?"

Recovering slightly, the ex-Watcher replied, "Ah, no, Buffy. I'm afraid we've just arrived."

"Oh, OK. Then we can do the whole explaining thing now," she said. Grasping her witch's hand, the Slayer continued. "I know I've missed a lot of drama the last couple of days, but can we hold off on the heartfelt apologies Willow has planned and get down to business?"

Smiling slightly, Willow squeezed the hand holding hers. "Buffy, you don't have to protect me. I'm OK." Turning to face the others, the witch forced herself to meet their eyes. "Giles, Xander, I don't even know where to begin. What I said in the chapel was uncalled for and not exactly the truth." She frowned. "I can't explain it. Ever since Faith showed up in my room, I've been Overreacting Girl."

From the minute Buffy had woken up and asked about the groping, Xander's attention had been focused solely on the by-play between the two girls. Finally shaking off his preoccupation, the young man looked at his oldest friend. She was wearing the same clothes she'd had on when they'd found Buffy. Dark circles ringed tired green eyes and her hair stuck up in an interesting and asymmetrical spike pattern. It was obvious she was running on nerves alone. Despite a lingering resentment for his college-attending friends, Xander knew Willow hadn't intentionally shut him out. "Hey, Will, you're my best friend. This little bump in the road isn't going to change that." He bent over awkwardly and hugged the much smaller girl. "Just – let's try not to get so wrapped up in our lives that we lose contact again. I'll come out of my basement and stop pouting," he grinned, "if you and the girls venture off campus every once in a while."

"Oh, Xand, I promise," the redhead choked out.

"Now, just so I know you're sincere and all, what's the what with you and Buffy? You guys seem closer than normal." He tugged at a strand of red hair. "Is this the reason you were so hesitant to commit to Tara?"

Willow couldn't answer the question. She stared at the brown-haired boy in shock. Thankfully, there were more pressing issues at hand, and Giles stepped in to remind the teens of their jobs. "Perhaps we should spend our time more constructively? Hmmm?" Reluctant amusement showed in his eyes, but the years dealing with the outrageous bunch of students gave him experience in hiding his own sense of humor.

Sucking in a huge breath, the young witch nodded rapidly. "Good-good idea, Giles," she said. However, she wasn't ready to move on entirely. She had yet to tell the older man just how sorry she was for lashing out at him.

The ex-Watcher noticed her bracing herself and guessed at her actions. "Willow, my dear, it's forgotten. Although your delivery was a bit harsher than necessary, your point was valid. It's bloody humiliating when someone nearly half your age can see what's going on before you can." He gave his trademark half smile. "I'd say the Scooby gang is back and ready for action, yes?"

Before the redhead could respond, a voice drawled from the door, "Sure hope the forgiveness train still has a few empty seats."


	17. Chapter 17

Five heads swiveled at the statement. Tara and an unknown blonde stood in the doorway. Strain marked the older witch's face. Before the gathered Scoobies could reply, she dragged her companion into the room, closing the door behind them. When the door thunked shut, Tara sagged against the other girl, whispering an incantation.

"Whoa!" Xander stumbled back a step when the "blonde" holding Tara morphed into Faith.

The brunette Slayer didn't even glance his way. Picking up a nearly unconscious witch, she carried the older girl to the chair Mrs. Summers had vacated earlier. Settling her bundle in the chair, the Slayer knelt down, peering at the witch. "T? You gonna be OK?"

Nodding slightly, wincing at the stabbing pain the motion caused, Tara said, "I'll be fine, Sweetie. I just need to rest a minute."

The brunette didn't really believe that, but stood and moved to stand behind the seated blonde. Without thinking, she rested her right hand on Tara's left shoulder. Her actions didn't go unnoticed. Green eyes narrowed in anger. Shooting out of her chair, Willow snarled, "You bitch! You've been here less than a day and you've got your hooks into my girlfriend." The red-haired witch began to pull in power. _This time, I'm not going to screw up the language_. As she began the incantation, Tara looked up. The older witch's eyes glowed an eerie blue and a sheet of pure power surrounded Faith.

"I won't let you touch her, Willow." Tara's voice rang with more authority than her former girlfriend had heard from the usually shy woman.

The redhead refused to stand down. She extended her senses, testing the strength of Tara's magic. The shield was strong, but fluctuated as the other woman staved off exhaustion. Watching the shield carefully, Willow began to time the drops in power.

"Stop it, Will." The young witch shifted her focus to the blonde on the bed. Buffy was pale and tears stood in her eyes.

Realizing what she had said, and what she had been preparing to do, Willow released the power and looked at the obviously upset Slayer. "I-" she started to explain, then stopped. "It's just that Faith…" Her words trailed off. Forcing herself to meet her Slayer's hazel eyes, the redhead nearly whispered, "I'm sorry, baby. I'm still letting the red hair take control of my mouth." She leaned down, brushing a quick but thorough kiss on the blonde's lips. "_My_ girlfriend is right here."

Faith shattered the tender scene. "Well, hell, B. Looks like you and me got some serious catching up to do. I spend eight months asleep and wake up to find out you're playing for the home team. Kinda makes me wonder what else you got to tell me." She smirked at the other Slayer. "Gonna have to wait, though. Blondie's got some promises to keep before I'll be available."

Tara looked even more worn out than before. She was listing to one side in the chair, but she roused enough to smack the brunette in the thigh. "Faith!" she protested, blushing brightly.

"Ow, damn it, T." Faith pouted, then noticed Xander smirking from across the room. She straightened and seemed to draw inward. "Ah, X-Man, look-"

The young man held up a hand. "Stop, Faith. Just stop. We both did some stupid things in the name of hormones. Can we just not rehash the whole mess?"

The Rogue Slayer hesitated, but finally nodded her agreement. The teen bounced in place, unable, or unwilling, to make eye contact with the adult members of the gang. Giles knew she was more than likely thinking of running. "Perhaps we could delay the rest of this discussion? I would like to see if Spike's disks have anything useful."

Willow reacted as though poked with an electric cattle prod. "Oh, yeah. Hey, I decrypted the files. Or, well, they decrypted themselves, but I almost had it" After a brief hesitation and a quirky smile, she rattled on. "Adam's got some secret lab in the Initiative, but it didn't say where. The disks had schematics for Adam and a bunch of new hybrid things he's planning on building. There was even a time table of sorts leading to some kind of final phase, but I couldn't find any real information on that, either."

"Hey, Adam mentioned that, the final phase, in the cave. He said since I was there, he would have to move up the completion date." She shrugged slightly. "Could you tell what demons he was planning on using for the construction?" Buffy asked.

"Um, a bunch of different ones. I could pull up the file if you really wanted to check."

Willow sounded hesitant, and Buffy laughed. "It's OK, Will. You don't have to let me touch your laptop. But, do you remember any specific demons? The last time I was down in the Initiative, the containment cells were overflowing. I mean, the cells are supposed to only house two, maybe three demons at a time. There were twice that in each cell. Riley said they were even cutting back on patrols and calling for more troops to help control things." The Slayer frowned in thought. "You know, those demons were too easy to catch. It's like they wanted to be there."

"Good Lord," Giles interjected. "The Trojan Horse."

"Adam's going to attack the Initiative from the inside," the Slayer summed up.

Xander nodded. "Makes sense. Demons versus soldiers – massacre, massacre."

"And Adam has a neat pile of body parts to start assembling his army," Willow joined in. "Diabolical, yet gross."

Xander walked over and sat gingerly on the edge of Buffy's bed. "Was there any information on security measures? Troop strength?" He looked at the redhead. "I can access my soldier memories to help us plan a way in."

"I really wasn't looking at that," the young witch said apologetically. She grabbed her laptop off the floor and opened it. "Hang on. Let me get the file up and we can all take a look." Propping the computer against the Slayer's side she began typing furiously. After a few minutes, diagrams appeared on the screen. Willow gestured for Xander and Giles to move closer. "Here," she said, pointing to one image in particular. "It's the blueprints for the facility."

Both men peered at the tiny screen. "If I were in charge, I'd put guard posts here, here, and here." Xander pointed at locations inside the underground base. "It's tactically sound. Of course, without troop numbers, it's only an educated guess."

"Willow, dear, how do you know there's a lab behind Room 314?" Giles asked. He gestured vaguely at the laptop. "These plans don't show any such facility."

The girl grinned at the older man. "Sure it does, Giles. You just have to know what to look for. See these blue and yellow lines?" She indicated the lines with a slender finger. "They're air ducts and conduits all running into there – right behind 314."

Sounding faintly irritated, Giles said, "That doesn't explain-"

Willow cut him off. "Why would you have electricity and filtered air running to nowhere? There's a lab back there."

Tara watched the gathered Scoobies in bemusement. She understood, finally, why Willow had been so sure they would find a solution to the Adam problem. The four core members of the gang worked seamlessly, integrating their various skills and expertise. They were oblivious to the three remaining people in the hospital room.

Straightening a bit from her position against Faith's leg, the witch glanced at Joyce Summers. The older blonde watched the strategy session in confusion. It was obvious she had little experience with the process. Opening her senses slightly, Tara saw that the eldest Summers was anxious about the coming fight, but her concern was for the Scoobies rather than herself.

Frowning, she relaxed back against the brunette again and smiled when she felt a hand stroke her hair. The brief contact allowed the blonde to sense Faith's aura without having to look. Despite the restless energy the girl had tightly caged, there was very little resentment at her exclusion from the planning. She was, Tara realized, waiting for the Scoobies to tell her what to do. It was an uncomfortable realization. Tara had been a part of the Scoobies for only a short period, but the gang had listened to her suggestions regarding Adam and, in fact, had actively sought her magical expertise. The younger Slayer did not have even that level of acceptance from the four figures examining the computer screen.

She remained silent for a few more minutes as the Scoobies began exchanging ideas on how to get into the secret lab. "Um, guys?" She asked hesitantly. No one actually moved from their positions around the computer, but Buffy and Giles did glance in her direction. "If A-Adam has this ev-evil p-plan, why would he want B-Buffy there?"

"That's an easy one, Blondie," Faith said. "He figured B would even the kill ratio. Gotta have enough demon parts to match with the human ones."

Xander agreed. "Yeah, I think Faith's right. But, that brings up another big question." He looked at Buffy. "With all this information we've got, I'm wondering…Adam's not worried you're going to kill, say, him?"

The blonde Slayer dropped her eyes. Finally, she admitted, "No, he's really not."

The assembled gang absorbed that information in silence. Xander stood and moved to lean against the wall. "Does anyone else miss the Mayor, I just wanna be a big snake?"

No one answered his question, but Tara felt the Slayer behind her stiffen. Through the contact she maintained with the younger girl, the witch felt a sharp stab of pain and grief at the query. Feigning greater weakness, she leaned heavily into the brunette's leg, going so far as to wrap a hand around her jeans-clad pillow.

The sorrow she sensed was quickly replaced by concern. "T? You OK down there?" the girl asked.

"Just tired," Tara answered truthfully. Turning her eyes back to the bed-ridden Slayer, she asked, "Shouldn't we warn the Initiative?"

"They're not going to listen to me," Buffy exclaimed.

"Riley?" Willow questioned.

Xander shook his head. "Don't think so, Will. Remember? It looked like Riley cleared out when we were at the high school."

"Hey, B? Maybe I'm way off here, but, wouldn't the Initiative know there was a lab in their base?"

"You'd think so, but Professor Walsh played by her own twisted set of rules. If they knew about the cyborg assembly line, I don't think they'd have caught all those demons," the blonde Slayer answered.

"OK, then, when do we go in?" the brunette asked. She didn't sound exactly eager, but she was obviously ready to end the planning session.

"Well, I need to gather the supplies," Giles said. "And," he looked at both witches, "I daresay Tara and Willow could use a bit of rest before the casting the spell."

"Mom and I need to see about getting me out of here," Buffy added. When everyone looked at her in shock, she raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sitting here while the rest of you go after Adam. I may not be up to kicking his ass the way I want, but I should be fine for regular demon killing."

Joyce disagreed. "Buffy, the doctor said you would be fine if you took it easy."

"Remember earlier you said you understood that I couldn't quit? Well, I'm the – " she looked at Faith, "_a_ Slayer, and we don't sit on the sidelines. Find a way to get me out, or I'll grab some clothes and walk out without their approval."

The little speech didn't go over well with the elder Summers, but she gave her assent reluctantly. "Fine. I'll see what I can do." She looked at Giles. "Rupert, we'll need to switch vehicles. Take the Jeep and the rest of the children to my house. I'll follow later with Buffy in yours."

"Of course, Joyce," the ex-Watcher agreed. "I'll go to my apartment after they are all settled for the items we'll need."

Tara added, "Then you need to come back to the Summers' house, too, Mr. Giles. I think it would be best for all of us to stay together, in case Adam decides to eliminate any possibility of a threat."

"Good. Let's get going, then." Buffy was a force to be reckoned with now the decisions had been made. "Tara, are you going to be able to disguise Faith on the way out?"

The blonde witch never had a chance to respond. "Hey, B, don't worry about it. I'll just keep my head down. Ain't like the Sunnydale PD is real good at their jobs."

"No, Faith, we can't take that risk," the older Slayer said.

"I can do it." The gang looked at Willow in surprise. For her part, the redhead looked directly at her ex-girlfriend. "Just tell me which spell to use and I'll get us out of here."


	18. Chapter 18

The ride in the Jeep passed quietly. Both witches were asleep, drained by their magic use. Faith sat with her head tilted against the back of the seat. It felt good to be outside. She extended her Slayer senses, looking for vampires or demons. Nothing, not even a mild flare on the horizon. Frustrated at the lack of action, she dropped her chin, being careful not to disturbed the heads resting on both her shoulders. Smiling a bit at the blonde hair fanned across her right side, the Slayer glanced up to see Giles watching her in the rearview mirror. Automatically, she lost the smile, stiffening – until she saw the twinkle in her ex-Watcher's gaze.

Finally, they pulled into the driveway in front of the Summers' house. Giles and Xander hopped out, leaving Faith to wake two very uncooperative witches. "Um, Red? T? We're here." Eyes widening in horror, the brunette watched Willow turn slightly, burrowing into her side. Swallowing hard as visions of an angry Buffy danced in her head, Faith tried a little harder. Shaking her shoulder and bouncing the red head up and down, she called, "Willow! Willow, get up! Come on, damn it."

Mumbling, the young hacker raised her head, eyes mostly closed. "We're here?" she asked indistinctly. Then the words made sense and her eyes shot open. "Oh, hey, we're home." Completely ignoring the astonished Slayer, she jumped out of the car.

"You're welcome, Red," Faith called after her.

Tara's laughter followed the sarcastic remark. "Don't worry, sweetie. She'll forgive you eventually."

"If you say, so, Blondie," the Slayer almost succeeded in sounding indifferent. "Come, on, let's get you into bed."

"Hmmm, got plans, do you, Slayer?" the older girl asked.

Chuckling ruefully, Faith nodded. "Hell, yeah, Witch. Been plotting ever since you cut me off this morning." Both girls climbed out of the Jeep and walked up the front steps. Before the brunette could open the door, however, Tara caught her hand.

"About this morning…" The blonde hesitated. "I made a mistake."

The Slayer nearly staggered from the unexpected verbal blow. Sucking in a huge breath and fighting a wave of nausea, the younger girl stepped away.

The movement alerted the witch something was wrong. Seeing how pale Faith had gotten, Tara asked, "Faith, sweetie, what's wrong?"

"I thought… I mean, hell, Tara, did I do something? I mean, you seemed OK with everything at the hospital, and now?" The younger girl tried to make sense of the last few minutes.

"Do something? Faith, what are you…" Replaying the conversation, Tara realized she'd caused the Slayer's withdrawal. "Oh, Goddess, sweetie, I didn't mean it like that." She moved into the brunette's personal space, wrapping both arms around the girl's waist. Looking into pain-filled brown eyes, she continued, "I wanted to tell you it was a mistake to call a halt this morning. I swear, Faith, I never thought wanting you, touching you, was a bad decision." She pressed a light kiss against the Slayer's throat, feeling the pulse beneath begin to race. Leaning back, she whispered, "Let's get inside, Slayer. You aren't the only one who's been making plans."

Opening the door, Tara pulled the dazed brunette into the house. Giles and Xander were sitting on the couch. "Where's Willow?" she asked.

"Oh, Tara, my dear, she decided to use Buffy's room. Before she left, I believe she mumbled something about you using the guest room." Giles answered.

"Yeah, Faith, looks like you and me are stuck with the floor," Xander said, grinning and gesturing to a nest of blankets beside the couch.

Eyebrows rising in disbelief, the Slayer shook her head. "Hate to burst your fantasy there, Xan-Man, but, if I gotta crash on the floor, I'm doing it upstairs. Just in case Red decides to make good on earlier threats, I'm sticking close to my bodyguard here." She jerked her chin at the witch next to her.

"But, that means I'm stuck with Giles," the young man whined.

The Englishman smirked. "That might not be as bad as you anticipated, Xander," he intoned. "Just imagine what Anya would say if she knew you'd slept with Faith."

Xander's eyes nearly popped out of his head, "Oh, yeah. Good point, Giles," he stammered. "I'm just going to crawl into the blankets and you girls can go right on upstairs."

Laughing at his antics, Tara grasped Faith's hand and began to lead her upstairs. "I didn't know Mrs. Summers had a guest room," she remarked.

"Hmmm, she mostly uses it as a storage room. B showed it to me one time. We're gonna have to move some stuff to get to the bed." The Slayer watched the witch in front of her. "Damn, T, Red ain't as smart as she likes to think."

Looking back in confusion, Tara replied, "What are you talking about?"

"Just admiring the view from down here, Blondie. Can't imagine how Red chose B over you."

Blushing at the huskily voiced compliment, Tara said, "Faith, I'm not –"

"Don't go there, Blondie. You're beautiful, and if you've changed your mind about waiting, I'm going to show you how happy I am Red's an idiot," Faith declared.

Shivering in excitement, Tara quickened her pace up the stairs. "In that case," she said, opening the door down the hall from Buffy's, "you get started moving this stuff," gesturing to the piles of clothing and artwork, "and I'll make sure we have all the privacy we need."

Faith squeezed by the witch standing in the doorway. "Sure, Blondie. I can do that. But what do you mean about the privacy?"

Tara closed the door and sketched a pattern in the air. Where her finger passed, a trail of green light followed. "I'm going to make sure we don't keep the rest of the house awake all night."

Laughing, the Slayer grabbed clothes from the bed and started piling them in a corner. "You a screamer, T?" she asked, grabbing another armful from the bed.

Tara blushed, but didn't answer. Letting the green light slowly brighten, she chanted quietly. With each word, the light expanded until the lines became shimmering waves of power. The witch waved her hands outward and the green waves flowed along the walls, meeting and merging in the corner Faith was using for the stored items. A final explosion of light marked the merger and then the light disappeared.

The Slayer glanced back at the witch after the flare of green. "Hey, Blondie, what's up with the magic? I thought we were here to get you all rested up for tomorrow?" Grunting with effort, she dropped the last of the clothes on the floor and started shifting Joyce's strange art collection.

Shaking out the tension in her shoulders, Tara turned to watch Faith. "This was an easy one. Besides, I'm not as bad off as I let on." At the Slayer's accusing glare, she tried her best puppy dog look. "Xander's comment about the Mayor caught you off guard. I didn't think you wanted the Scoobies to know how much you really loved him."

The Slayer stopped moving. She looked shocked. "How did you know?"

"Remember when I escorted you out of Buffy's room I told you I could tell if you were lying?" At the brunette's confused nod, Tara went on. "I can read auras. With you touching me at the time, I felt your reaction." She waited anxiously for Faith's response.

"So, you can do this aura thing with everybody?" The younger girl went back to moving artwork.

"Yeah, I can," the blonde answered. "I don't usually. Sometimes, though, emotions just jump out at me." Faith had finally cleared the bed and a path to the door. Approaching the Slayer, Tara pressed against the brunette. "See, right now, you seem to have some excess energy."

"Whoa! Blondie, I thought you were the shy witch," Faith joked, sliding her hands down the older girl's back.

Leaning in, Tara brushed her lips over the Slayer's before gripping the T-shirt Faith wore. She pushed the shirt up slowly, hands splayed to touch as much warm skin as possible. "I'm only the 'shy witch' in public, Slayer. Right now, with just you, I know exactly what I want." She caught the pouting lips in a deeper kiss, tongue dueling fiercely with Faith's. Finally pulling away, she panted, "And I'm going to make sure I get exactly that."

The brunette was flushed; her eyes nearly black with desire. "So, T, tell me what you want. Don't plan on you doing all the work." She brought her hands between their bodies, finding and releasing the hook on Tara's skirt. The material dropped to the floor. Gliding her palms over the newly revealed skin of the witch's legs, Faith begged, "Help me out a bit here, Witch. I don't want to go too far, too fast. Hurtin' you ain't part of the plan."

Tara ignored the plea. It was time to show the brunette she wasn't worried the Slayer would lose control. The witch resumed her quest to remove Faith's shirt, stopping again as her hands found the other girl's breasts. Smiling in triumph as the nipples hardened under her palms, the blonde gave in to temptation. Drawing in a small amount of energy, she whispered a short spell, pushing the Slayer onto the bed at the same time. The move surprised the vastly stronger brunette who lay looking at her companion in shock.

With revenge clearly on her mind, the younger girl tried to push herself out of her prone position, but couldn't move. "What the fuck, Blondie?"

Climbing astride the Slayer, Tara bent down to nip at the girl's neck just below her ear. Despite her unease at the situation, Faith groaned and bucked at the sensation. "You see, Slayer, your strength isn't a problem. You won't ever hurt me." The witch licked the reddened area her teeth had made before gliding slowly down to the pulse point. Sucking the flesh into her mouth, Tara marked the tender area, feeling the Slayer's pulse pounding under her tongue and the body beneath her arching in response. Sitting back and looking into the intense eyes below her, the witch said softly, "The spell reacts to intent, Faith. As long as you aren't trying to get up or leave, you'll be able to move. So, feel free to twist and writhe as much as you like."

Down the hall, Willow felt the initial surge in power as Tara insulated the room. At first, the witch wrestled with a desire to stop the lovemaking she knew was planned. However, exhaustion and the image of Buffy's tear-filled eyes from earlier convinced her to stay where she was. Pushing thoughts of Tara and Faith from her mind, Willow concentrated on the faint scent of sandalwood in Buffy's pillow. The smell drove the last images of the two down the hall away. It was a uniquely Buffy smell, and the witch turned her thoughts to her own missing girlfriend. She was worried that her Slayer was pushing too hard and returning to active duty too quickly. _Still_, the redhead thought, on the edge of sleep, _Buffy'll need someone here to take care of her. Wonder if she'd be interested in some tender loving care from Nurse Willow_?


	19. Chapter 19

Willow woke slowly. Stretching and rolling onto her side, she tried to go back to sleep, but something nagged at her. The sun was hitting her in the face, but her bed in the dorm was nowhere near the window. Reluctantly opening her eyes, the young witch smiled. Buffy lay inches away, dressed in her fluffy cow pajamas. Raising her head to peer over the sleeping blonde, Willow saw that it was already after eight. She reached out with her senses, checking the locations of the others. So far, Joyce was the only one up and about. The elder Summers was in the kitchen. A slow smile spread across the young girl's face, and she slid out of the bed, careful not to wake her girlfriend.

She padded across the room, stopping right in front of the door. The witch knew she needed to copy the spell Tara had employed the night before. Testing her reserves, the young witch smiled. She was ready to go. Carefully drawing in power, Willow quickly completed the spell, warding and insulating the room. Turning away from the door, the redhead thought, _Now, I wonder if Buffy has anything appropriate_. She rummaged through the Slayer's dresser drawers, blushing at the sight of the blonde's impressive lingerie collection. With a triumphant smile, she yanked a lace G-string and a matching bra from the disordered drawer. It took seconds to replace her pair of sweats and T-shirt with the tempting underwear. A wave of uncertainty crept in during the short walk to the bed. Buffy looked so peaceful asleep, but years of being a Scooby told Willow to make sure she didn't let this opportunity pass by.

Shaking with a mixture of desire and nervousness, Willow went to the other side of the bed and climbed in. She scooted across the expanse, finally kneeling mere inches from the sleeping Slayer. A shaking hand tentatively reached out, stroking gently from Buffy's left shoulder down to her fingers. Growing bolder at the fuzzy feel of the sleepwear warmed by the blonde's body heat, Willow moved even closer, her knees just touching the other girl's stomach. The pressure of the caress increased with each repetition. After several minutes of this, Willow could see that Buffy was waking up. The aquiline nose twitched and she mumbled inaudibly. The witch nearly cheered when her girlfriend rolled onto her back, exposing more for the redhead to stroke. Although still impeded by the black and white spotted pajamas, Willow firmly ran both hands up Buffy's stomach to her breasts. The Slayer moaned and arched slightly. Expecting to see hazel eyes staring back, the witch glanced up from Buffy's body. No, the blonde was still mostly asleep.

"Buffy?" Willow said quietly. "Baby, I've got a surprise for you. Come on, sweetie, we don't have much time, and I want to play." She finished the last sentence with her lips brushing the blonde's right ear. Getting no response, she blew warmth breath into the opening before beginning to nibble the Slayer's earlobe. That finally got a clear reaction. This moan obviously had nothing to do with sleep. Letting go of the piece of flesh, the witch trailed her tongue along Buffy's neck, stopping to nip lightly at the Slayer's chin.

"Will? What – Oh, God…What are you doing?" Buffy choked out. Her breathing was heavy, interspersed with groans of pleasure.

Sitting back on her heels, the redhead glanced coyly at the panting blonde. "Why, Miss Summers, I thought that was obvious. I distinctly heard the doctor say you would need further medical care." She bent over, lips hovering over Buffy's. "Nurse Willow is here to take care of you." Not waiting for a response to her outrageous statement, she kissed the girl beneath her. Unlike their kisses at the hospital, there was nothing gentle or sweet about this. This was a rough, no-holds-barred expression of desire. The redhead's tongue plunged into the Slayer's mouth, sliding along her teeth before tangling with the blonde's eager muscle. Willow felt her wetness dampen the small patch of fabric between her legs and whimpered into the kiss. She pulled away just long enough to take a quick breath before diving back into another duel with the blonde's mouth.

Buffy gave in to the passion sizzling in her veins. Using Slayer strength, she grasped Willow by the waist and lifted her. The move pulled at the damaged muscles of her back, but the Slayer knew the slight discomfort was worth the results, when she settled the redhead astride her body. Yanking her head away, breaking the voracious kiss, the blonde panted. She turned dazed hazel eyes to the passion-dark green ones above her. "Will, I love you." The normally confident blonde hesitated. Shyly, a blush climbing up her neck and face, she said, "I- I haven't ever…"

Pressing a slim finger to the other girl's lips. "Shh, baby. I promise, this is the easy part. And," she flashed an impish smile, "I haven't ever, either."

Eyes widening at the admission, Buffy took a long look at the redhead seated on her stomach. Rumpled red hair fell across Willow's forehead. The freckled face was flushed, sweat gathering at the hairline. Continuing her slow evaluation, the Slayer tried to swallow in a suddenly dry throat. "Hey, baby, the lingerie looks a bit familiar."

"Well, I wanted to make sure I was properly dressed for my patient," Willow slid lower until her wetness pressed against the crotch of Buffy's pajamas. Both girls groaned at the contact. "Do you like it?"

"Oh, God, you can't tell?" Buffy panted. "Please, Will, help me out of the cow jammies. I need you to touch me."

The redhead scrambled from her perch and started to undo the buttons on the front of the Slayer's sleep shirt. It took far too long, but she finally slipped the spotted top off Buffy's shoulders. She sat transfixed at the sight of Buffy, topless, stretched out before her. "Oh, Goddess, Buffy. You are so beautiful." She forgot all about removing the matching pants. Stroking tentatively over one hardened nipple, the witch smiled in satisfaction at the hissed encouragement she received for her efforts.

Not wanting the other breast to feel neglected, Willow leaned down and slowly ran her warm tongue over the puckered nub. The Slayer arched violently at the contact. "Yes. Please, Will…"

"It's OK, baby. I'm right here. I've got you," the redhead murmured against her new toy. A wicked glint entered her eyes. Renewing her caresses, both oral and manual, Willow drove the blonde's desire higher. Knowing Buffy was too far gone to notice the change in sensation, Willow right hand slipped beneath the drawstring of the pajama pants while the witch continued to stimulate the smaller girl's breasts.

Faith stared at the blonde witch in exhaustion. Sweat dripped off her trembling body and the Slayer was devoutly glad she wouldn't need to move for several hours.

"Wanna go again?" Tara smirked at the useless mass of Slayer next to her.

The brunette didn't try to formulate an answer. Conserving the last of her energy, she simply shook her head. "Hmmm. Too bad. But, I suppose I should let you rest. You have a big day ahead of you."

"Oh, hell, Blondie. That's just some demon ass-kicking. Doesn't matter if he's some overgrown science experiment. I think I just had my 'big day' right here."

Laughing, Tara scooted closer to the younger girl, wrapping her securely in her arms. "You doing OK, sweetie?"

The brunette thought a moment before answering. Her voice lost its usual innuendo-laden cant when she said, "I've never been better, Tara." She smiled a bit when the witch's head came up at the sound of her full name. "You're pretty amazing, Witch." The Slayer lazily tucked blonde hair behind the older girl's ear. "How about you, T? You didn't let me scratch your itch more than a couple of times. You sure that's enough?"

Surprised at the concern evident in the husky voice, the blonde quickly answered, "I'm big on quality, not quantity, Slayer. You scored big in the first category, sweetie." She brushed her lips over the soft skin of Faith's shoulder. "We should probably get some sleep, Faith," she commented quietly.

"True, Blondie. You need to recharge your batteries before we find Adam."

Relaxing against the Slayer's warm body, Tara nestled her head onto the other girl's shoulder. As sleep tugged at her, the witch murmured just loud enough for the brunette's sensitive hearing to pick up, "I know we rushed things a bit, but, please, don't leave until we have a chance to talk." A yawn broke off the statement. Finally, several heartbeats later, the blonde whispered, "I love you, Slayer.

Faith closed her eyes at the quiet declaration. Tears trickled slowly down the sides of her face. Finally regaining some semblance of control over her raging emotions, the Slayer tenderly kissed the blonde head resting on her shoulder. "Ah, Blondie. I'm not worth your love."

A sharp knock yanked Tara from sleep. "Girls, breakfast is ready," Joyce's voice came through the door.

"Hell, Blondie, I thought you said you blocked the noise in this room." The Slayer's normally husky voice squeaked endearingly on the last words.

Muffling her laughter against Faith's smooth skin, the witch realized she had never been happier. Bringing shining eyes to meet the sleepy chocolate ones above her, the blonde explained, "The spell kept our sounds from disturbing the rest of the house. But, we needed to be able to hear outside noises in case something was wrong." Stretching and slowly untangling from the covers, Tara slid from the bed. Looking down at the younger girl, she couldn't resist the pouting lips. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, she initiated a gentle exploration of the other girl's mouth.

Faith's hand slid through her hair, tugging her in closer. The Slayer tried to deepen the kiss, drawing the witch's body onto her own. But the blonde's hands flattened against her chest in clear refusal. Body humming with desire, she moaned, "What the hell, T? What's wrong with morning sex?"

Tara managed to keep her reaction internal. Despite knowing the Slayer wasn't ready to become emotionally involved in a relationship, it still hurt to hear their tender lovemaking referred to as sex. "Nothing wrong with it, sweetie. But Mrs. Summers and the gang will be heading downstairs for breakfast. We need to join them." She poked the concave stomach she leaned against. "I'm sure I heard this beast roar not too long ago." She pushed herself off the bed again, offering her hand to the prone brunette. "Come on, let's throw on some clothes and join everyone. We can shower after we eat."

Buffy and Willow were just emerging from the room down the hall when Tara and Faith headed to breakfast. The older witch noticed the power draining from the other room and couldn't restrain a bark of laughter. "Good morning," she greeted the other couple.

"Hey, Tara," Buffy said. The senior Slayer looked much better than the day before. "You guys sleep OK in the guest room?"

The witch felt Faith begin to answer, but Willow's voice broke in. "Oh, I'm pretty sure they managed just fine, baby." Green eyes stared fixedly at the bruises and teeth marks visible above the collar of the younger Slayer's shirt.

"Now, look, Red-" Faith began.

"No, Faith. It's OK. Will, I thought you were over this," Buffy commented. "Do we need to go back into the room so I can remind you who your girlfriend is again?"

Willow blushed furiously at the question. "Ah, no, no, we're good. Sorry, Faith," she mumbled.

Chuckling, the brunette slapped her sister Slayer on the back. "Gonna have to show me how you do that, B. Blondie here doesn't seem to understand whose supposed to be in charge."


	20. Chapter 20

The four girls clattered down the stairs, laughing at Tara's reaction to the brunette Slayer's comment. "C'mon, T. I didn't mean nothing, honest," Faith pleaded. She absently rubbed the spot the blonde witch had smacked.

"Oh, you're not getting off that lightly, Slayer," her witch threatened.

"I'd watch out if I were you, Faith," Buffy joked. "Tara sounds really scary."

The younger Slayer snuck another glance at Tara. Despite the glower twisting her features, the blonde's blue eyes sparkled with laughter. She winked when she caught Faith peeking at her. Relaxing, the young girl told the other Slayer, "She is, B. Damned if the witch didn't tie me to the bed and have her wicked way with me."

"Faith!" Tara smacked the brunette on the same arm she'd punished earlier. "Would you please just stop!"

Buffy and Willow were leaning against each other, giggling madly as the quartet burst into the kitchen.

The group sobered quickly once they sat down to breakfast. Game faces replaced gaiety as the Scooby gang prepared themselves for battle. "OK, guys, what's the plan?" Xander asked.

"Yeah, B, what's the plan?" Faith seconded.

The older Slayer frowned. "Well, we need to find a way into the Initiative," she began.

"Hey, baby. This isn't really my area of expertise. How about I clean up while you masterminds make your plans?" Willow wrinkled her nose. "It was nice to have clean clothes and get some sleep, but I haven't showered in a couple of days."

"Wow! That's what that smell is." Xander grinned goofily.

"Sure, Will. We'll just hammer out some details and get the equipment together while you shower." Buffy hesitated. Blushing slightly, the blonde dropped a quick kiss on her witch's lips. "Don't be long, OK?"

Nodding, the redhead hurried from the kitchen and jogged up the stairs.

Once her girlfriend had gone, the Slayer turned back to the gathered Scoobies. "It'll be easiest to get in through Lowell House. There's an elevator from the main floor of the house into the lab."

"Buff?" Xander raised his hand as if he were in school. At the blonde's questioning look, he said, "Elevators are a big security risk. I'm betting they'll have locked the controls and made the cars inaccessible."

The Slayer stared at her friend in shock. "It's really the only way in, Xan. The sewer entrance was sealed off a few weeks ago."

"I brought some climbing equipment," Giles put in. Seeing the gang looking at him, he explained, "I thought perhaps we might have to climb down one of the old access tunnels under the University."

"Whatever the reason, G-Man, it was a nice save." Faith smiled at the older man. "What about once we get there?"

"We sneak into an armed military base to a super secret lab and kick Adam's ass," Buffy summed up.

"Right up my ally, B."

"OK, then. Let's get moving." Buffy led the gang out of the room. The weapons chest in her bedroom closet yielded several stakes, a hand axe, and a couple of short swords. Carrying the arsenal back downstairs, the blonde Slayer dumped her armful into a large duffel bag. Giles added a large gourd, a spell book, and what looked like mountain climbing gear.

Faith stepped up and grabbed the heavy bag, looping the strap over her head and shoulder. "So, once Red comes back down, what's next?"

"I'm here, Faith," Willow said from the bottom of the stairs. "Now we go find Adam and explain that you don't get to beat up on my girlfriend without the Scoobies returning the favor."

Buffy opened the door to Lowell House and waited for the rest of the gang to join her inside. Usually, the faux frat house teemed with off duty soldiers pretending to be college students. But the large house was eerily silent and empty. "OK. The entrance to the underground base is this way." She walked quickly through the main room and down a hallway. Stopping in front of a large mirror, the senior Slayer turned to face the six people committed to the fight.

"OK, guys, game faces. We're going in." She lashed out with a booted foot, shattering the mirror. Behind the broken glass lay an empty elevator shaft.

Faith dropped the duffel bag on the floor and quickly unloaded the climbing ropes and gear. It took a bit of Slayer strength to mount anchoring pitons in the floor of the hallway, but the gang quickly kitted out after that. Faith and Willow were the first two to begin the descent into the Initiative. The brunette Slayer was nervous as they rappelled slowly into the dimly lit shaft. It was too dark to see the pair of climbers above them.

About halfway down, the redhead's foot slipped from the wall, and the witch squeaked as she banged into the side of the elevator shaft. Faith reached over, gripping the line tightly, making sure Willow didn't continue to swing. After a few attempts, the older girl managed to get both feet planted firmly against the wall. Glancing at her companion, the junior Slayer asked quietly, "You doing OK, over there?"

"Super. What was I thinking using stairs all this time?" the redhead responded.

A few more minutes passed in uncomfortable silence. "Red… I mean, Willow?"

"No, really, Faith. It's not as scary as I thought." Willow had a death grip on the line in front of her and panted slightly from the exertion.

For just a second, the Slayer contemplated remaining silent. "That's good. Um, but it wasn't really what I wanted to talk about." Seeing the wide-eyed look the witch was giving her, Faith concentrated on her boots as they scrabbled for purchase on the slick surface of the wall. "I just –" She blew out a frustrated breath. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I hate how messed up things got last year."

Willow opened her mouth to respond, and the younger girl braced in anticipation. "Ya know, Faith, it wasn't entirely your fault."

"Huh?"

The redhead giggled at the look on the Slayer's face. "Don't think I'm letting you off the hook, though. Still mad, here." Unwisely, the young witch took her lead hand off the fixed rope and waved it at the other girl. Realizing what she'd done, Willow paled and quickly returned the errant hand to the rope. "Being held at knife point and threatened isn't something easily forgotten."

Faith basked in a tiny bit of hope. _So Red might be able to forgive me? Maybe she'll stop trying to turn me into a crispy shell?_ "Yeah. About that whole knife scene…It wasn't anything personal, really. I wouldn't have killed you."

"Could have fooled me."

"It was supposed to, Willow." _Damn, Red always did push my buttons._ Taking a deep breath, Faith continued, "Look, the Boss was getting real unhappy with you. I knew B was gonna come after you, so I was tryin' to make sure none of the Mayor's bully boys tried to do the Boss a favor by killin' his biggest headache."

The usually talkative redhead was silent for a minute, thinking about the explanation. "OK. Maybe I could have misinterpreted the whole thing with the knife. But what about the big fight with Buffy? You tried to kill her," she accused, furious at the memory.

If the brunette had had a way out of the elevator shaft, she would have disappeared. "About that…well, see, I…" This wasn't as easy to talk about. "Ah, hell, Red. I wasn't any threat to your girlfriend," she finally blurted out. Knowing she had to say this before her brain convinced her to shut up, she rambled on. "The reason I knew B was throwing the fight in the Church was because I'd done the same thing that time at the apartment. I'd hit bottom so hard, Red, I wasn't sure which way was up anymore. Right or wrong, I got B so mad 'cause I wanted her to just help me stop the pain. I fucked everything up from the time I got off the train in SunnyD. That night on the roof, I was hoping to get B to kill me." A single tear slipped down her cheek as a vision of Buffy's face, twisted in anger, filled her mind. "She stabbed me, but it wasn't enough to finish the job. And, when the knife went in, I knew I couldn't let her kill me. She wasn't a murderer. I jumped off the building on my own."

When Faith fell silent, Willow mulled over the younger girl's story. There was a small part of the witch screaming, _She's lying. You can't trust her._ The larger part that was just Willow, friendly hacker and novice witch, finally looked at the events of her senior year in high school and saw that none of the Scoobies had been blameless. She relinquished her hold on the lead rope, and grabbed the Slayer's nearest arm "Faith, all of us help screw things up last year. I-I don't know that I can forget, but I think forgiving is an option." The relief in the younger girl's brown eyes caught Willow by surprise. Needing to reinforce her message, she awkwardly leaned over and caught the brunette in a tight hug. Unfortunately, releasing the fixed rope with both hands sent the entwined girls hurtling down the elevator shaft.

"Falling now," Willow stated unnecessarily. Adrenaline surged and she sought a spell to keep both of them from certain disaster. Finding an incantation that seemed helpful, the witch began to chant as her sneakers touched the floor. A little deflated that she hadn't gotten to save the day, she snuck a glance at her companion. The junior Slayer still seemed shaken; although, Willow wasn't sure if that was from the fall or the earlier discussion. Launching herself across the tiny space, she latched onto the brunette.

After stiffening at the friendly attack, Faith gingerly returned the embrace.

Seconds later, Tara and Buffy joined them at the bottom of the climb. Tara smirked, seeing her Slayer's unease at the hug. The senior Slayer decided it was time for a little payback. "So, Faith, what's with snuggling with my girlfriend?" she growled.

"Oh, ah, hey, B. It was all Willow. She just kinda grabbed me." Silently cursing, the brunette tried to move away from the clinging witch. "Look," she tried waving hands and arms trapped beneath Willow's. "No hands in inappropriate places. I swear!"

"Oh, I'm not worried about that. I was a little upset you didn't ask me to join in." Buffy grabbed both girls in a crushing hug.

Xander finished his descent and couldn't help staring at the group hug. "Um, Tara, what are they doing?"

Shrugging, the blonde witch answered, "I'm not sure. I thought maybe it was a pre-battle ritual. I'm kinda new at this Scooby stuff."

The trio of Scoobies broke apart as Giles and Joyce dropped to the ground. The blonde witch couldn't stop a slight smile at the confusion and tentative happiness surrounding the Rogue Slayer. The gang gathered around the closed elevator door leading into the Initiative. Using pry bars, the men grunted and strained to gain access to the government facility. Finally, Xander managed to slip the bar between the doors, slowly opening them.

"OK," Buffy addressed the group. "We stick together and everything should be fine. Everybody ready? The doors shifted suddenly, widening the gap. "Let's," the Slayer stared at the row of automatic weapons held by soldiers in the open doorway, "do this."


	21. Chapter 21

The Scoobies marched through the base labyrinth of corridors under heavy guard. No one said anything, but Tara could sense the rising fear from the others. She glanced at the brunette Slayer at her side. The teen looked bored to death at the situation, walking with hands stuffed in pockets. Under the surface, however, Faith was a seething mass of anger and fear. It was a scary combination given the girl's history. Moving closer to the Dark Slayer, the blonde witch surreptitiously took the other girl's hand.

Faith tensed, but didn't pull away. Finally, they were led into a large room filled with computers, wall-mounted display screens, and a handful of military personnel. Their "escort" stopped in front of a conference table strewn with papers and maps. One of the guards tossed the duffel of equipment onto the table, and the older man waiting there opened it.

As he pawed through the weapons and climbing gear, Buffy said, "Colonel-"

"Shut up," the man snapped. "Do you and your friends think you can just keep sneaking in here?"

"Colonel, you have to listen to me," the blonde tried again.

"The Corps isn't in the habit of letting civilians waltz into its installations brandishing weapons," he pulled a handful of stakes from the bag, "and…" He hesitated. The next item to emerge from the duffel was the gourd for the spell. "What the hell is this?" he demanded.

"It's a gourd," Willow offered.

Giles mumbled, sounding embarrassed, "A magical gourd."

"What kind of freaks are you people?" the Colonel asked. He put the gourd down and stared at the group.

The situation proved too much for the younger Slayer. Tara had been too focused on the byplay to anticipate her companion's actions. Faith took two steps before the guards stopped her with raised guns. Still, the brunette was beyond caring. Glaring at the man in charge, she sneered, "We're the freaks that are gonna save your pathetic asses."

Examining her closely, Colonel McNamara said, "Oh, you're the other one – the other Slayer." He smiled unpleasantly. "Aren't the Sunnydale police looking for you? Murder, isn't it?"

A low growl burst from Faith' throat.

"Colonel," Buffy interrupted, trying to salvage the situation. "Adam is here, in the Initiative."

"Nice try," he responded, still locking eyes with the furious brunette Slayer.

The senior Slayer rushed on. "Those overcrowded containment cells – courtesy of Adam. He's pulling a Trojan horse on you, just waiting-"

"Every inch of this installation is under constant 24-hour surveillance," the Colonel retorted. He moved to tower over the diminutive blonde.

"Can't say much for your boys, then, Big Man," Faith taunted. "I mean, we got all the way down to the base before you snagged us. You don't even know Adam's got a secret lab in the house. Great job."

For the first time, the older man appeared less than confident. Leaning toward Buffy and lowering his voice, he asked, "What secret lab?"

"The one Adam's been using," the Slayer said disgustedly. "The one built for the final stages of the 314 Project." The blonde teen shook her head and grimaced at the blank look she received. "And you have no idea what I'm talking about."

"Hey, B," Faith had to add, "maybe we should leave Adam to these guys. I mean, wicked cool weapons they got. Way better than stakes and shit."

Nodding, the Colonel agreed. "Now, that's a fantastic suggestion. We'll just make sure you're turned over to the proper authorities, and then my men will take care of this Adam."

"Oh jolly good," Giles said. Pulling off his glasses and rubbing his forehead, the ex-Watcher glared at everyone. "How exactly do you plan to get close enough to Adam to remove his power source?"

Hands on hips, McNamara faced the Englishman. "Hit him simultaneously with multiple tazer blasts – incapacitate him with as much voltage as we can muster."

"Great plan." Xander joined in the conversation. "That's right up there with duck and cover."

"Adam feeds off the energy of a tazer, Colonel," Buffy explained.

Still surrounded by soldiers and weapons, Faith interjected," Let's just send the monster to an all you can eat buffet, Big Man."

It was all too much for the military officer. He ran his gaze over the assembled Scoobies. "Are you trying to tell me my business?" he barked at Buffy.

The Slayer responded urgently, "This is _not_ your business. It's ours." She gestured at the gang. "You, the Initiative, the boys at the Pentagon…you're all in way over your heads. You're messing with primeval forces you don't even understand."

"And you do?" the Colonel sneered.

"Faith and I are the Slayers. You're playing on our turf."

At Buffy's words, Faith spun abruptly away from the armed men in front of her. The younger girl stared in disbelief at the other Slayer. _Wow! I just got promoted to the First Team_, the brunette thought. A little of the anger ebbed as she watched the continued confrontation.

"Up there, maybe," the Colonel allowed, gesturing at the ceiling. "But down here, I'm the one in control."

It might have been more effective if the lights hadn't gone out at that very moment. Seconds passed in absolute darkness before a hollow thud and a series of beeps echoed in the room. Emergency lights came on, bathing the area in tones of red and blue.

"Sir," one of the computer techs said. "The power grid's down. Back ups not responding." He looked up in fear. "We're locked in."

The Colonel started to reply when warning klaxons sounded, and the red lights mounted above the doorways began to flash.

"Adam's getting started without us, B," Faith commented. Gunfire and shouts filtered through the sealed doors.

The computer tech verified the younger Slayer's words. "Sir, the containment cells have been breached. The Hostiles are loose."

"How many?" The Colonel sounded worried as he bent over the terminal.

"All of them, sir," the young soldier replied.

"It's Adam," Buffy said urgently. When McNamara turned to look at her, she continued. "Look, Faith and I are the only ones who can defeat him. Get your people out of here."

It seemed to be the wrong thing to say. Looking over his shoulder, the Colonel ordered several of him men to follow him. Voices sounded around the room as the Marines grabbed weapons and got ready for battle. Nodding in satisfaction, the officer turned to the group of soldiers still guarding the Scoobies. "These people are under arrest," he said to one of the group. "Do you understand?"

Coming to attention, the young Marine snapped, "Yes, sir." He and his men moved in tighter around the civilians as the Colonel led his strike force from the room.

Catching Faith's eye, Buffy gestured minutely at the guards around them. Smirking, the younger girl nodded. In a blur of fists and feet, the two Slayers disarmed the small group left behind. "Will?" the blonde Slayer said. "Can you take care of these guys?"

"Sure, Buffy." Willow sounded glad to be included in the roundup. Drawing in a slight amount of power, the redhaired witch mumbled and pointed her hands at the frightened soldiers. As the witch finished her chant, the men stumbled into one another and seemed locked into place. Dropping her hands, Willow grinned. "That binding spell sure is handy." She turned to Faith. "Thanks for helping figure that out."

A bit wide-eyed, the young brunette said, "Uh, yeah, Red. Happy to act as your practice dummy."

"OK, guys, we need to find Adam," the blonde Slayer called.

"According to the map, we need to get across the main part of the base," Xander said.

The Scoobies looked up at the bank of monitors hanging from the ceiling. Each screen displayed fierce fighting and growing numbers of casualties.

Giles looked away first. "The enjoining spell is extremely touchy and volatile. We can't risk it being interrupted," the ex-Watcher explained. "We need a place that's close to Faith, and quiet."

"Well, quiet could be a problem," the young hacker announced, gesturing with one hand at the grisly episodes playing on the monitors. "But we could use 314 itself for the spell since Adam is using the lab right behind it."

"Right, then." Buffy smiled at the group. "Now all we have to do is get there."

Xander and Giles grabbed guns from the magically bound Marines. Faith took the lead as they burst from the room. Mrs. Summers and the two witches huddled in the middle of the group. The large open space outside of the control room blazed with light from dozens of electrical fires. Demons and soldiers flooded the space, and the sound of machine gun fire exploded from all directions.

Their progress was marked with frequent stops as Faith dealt with the horde of demons blocking their path. Finally, though, they hit a free stretch and picked up the pace. Running all out, the gang entered a gated off section of the underground base. Out of the corner of her eye, the brunette Slayer saw a Marine aiming a machine gun their way. Without thinking, she altered her path. "Red! Look out!" She threw herself at the witch, tackling her to the ground. Bullets sprayed over their heads until a demon wrenched the gun away.

"Come on!" Xander shouted. He and the rest of the group had past the prone girls. Faith climbed off Willow, pulling her to her feet. They raced after the others, reaching the lab section of the Initiative. The door to the facility was unlocked, thanks to Adam. Hurrying inside, Giles slammed the door behind them and Tara incanted a spell to seal it closed.

A short walk down the corridor completed their journey to Room 314.

The lab was eerily silent and lit by only a single emergency light. Rows of steel gurneys with arm and leg restraints marched down the center of the large room. Ignoring the setting, Buffy said, "OK, it should be over here." She, Faith, and Willow ran to the far wall. Moving equipment out of the way, the blonde Slayer pried at the wall panels until they swung open.

Faith glanced through the opening before turning back to the other Slayer and her witch.

"Right, B. Barricade the door once I'm in."

"Faith, wait," Buffy said. She looked over her shoulder, calling to Giles. "This place OK to be magic central?"

Peering out the tiny window in the door, he replied, "It should do."

"As long as we don't get blowed up or nothing," Willow said sarcastically.

"Yeah, what are the odds of that happening?" Xander mocked.

Faith smirked at the brunette boy. "Sounds good, then. Hey, Red, how long do I have before the magic kicks in?"

"Um, about five minutes or so," the witch answered.

"B, take care-" the younger Slayer stopped.

Nodding in understanding, Buffy said, "Don't worry. I've got it covered." The blonde touched Faith on the arm. "I'm sorry you have to go alone."

A slow smile brightened the brunette's face. Glancing around the lab at the Scoobies, she replied, "I'm not alone, B."


	22. Chapter 22

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Faith waited just long enough to be sure the girls closed the panels behind her before making her way down the narrow corridor. At the end, she noticed a metal ladder leading down to another lab. Hesitating, the Slayer extended her senses. Bad idea. The feel of the demons from the containment cells poured through her. Faith yanked her barriers back into place with a curse. Knowing she couldn't stand there all night, she set her feet on the top rung and began to descend.

The Slayer paused at the bottom. A figure sat in one of the heavy metal chairs, his back to her. A man and woman in blood-stained white lab coats stood motionless next to a table with various cutting instruments. Swallowing her fear, Faith edged forward. "Riley!" she gasped in shock. Buffy's former boyfriend sat in the chair without restraint, yet he made no effort to stand. "Riley, hey, it's Faith." No response, "Yeah, OK, I know I got some apologies to make and all, but we need to get you out of here."

She realized there was something wrong when the Marine only looked at her in silence. "Hey, what's going on? Why won't you talk to me?"

"He can't. He's not programmed to respond." A deep, booming voice stated from across the room. "He's part of the final phase now." An enormous figure emerged from the shadows behind the two scientists. Green, textured skin merged with human skin, thanks to large staples.

"I'm guessing you're Adam," Faith said. Looking at the monster, she hoped the magic worked soon. No way could she take this thing with just normal Slayer power.

"I do not know you," Adam intoned.

Smirking, the Slayer responded, "Name's Faith. I'm a Slayer."

The freakish hybrid cocked his head to one side. "Ah. Interesting. I believed there could only be one of you at a time."

He paused and Faith waited impatiently for the enjoining spell to kick in. Nothing happened. _What the fuck's going on, Red? Longest five minutes of my life, here._

"The other Slayer was supposed to be part of the final phase. You will take her place." Adam moved forward, stopping behind the gruesome pair in white coats.

"Sorry," the brunette said insincerely. Shrugging, she continued, "I don't jump through hoops on command. I've never really been one to toe the line."

Adam was just a few feet from the Slayer now. He paused at her statement, considering it. "Oh," he finally said. Then, looking past Faith's shoulder, "Kill her."

Strong hands gripped the teen's shoulders, lifting her off the ground. She tried to twist away, but found herself airborne instead. Her flight ended at the far wall. The impact drove the breath from her lungs, and she slid limply down the wall onto a cold steel table. Gasping, the Slayer scrambled down from her landing pad onto the floor. Taking a defensive stance, she waited for Riley to continue his attack. While she waited, Adam gave another command and the scientists also began to move. The woman turned on some kind of saw. Faith flinched at the sound.

"Hey, soldier boy, maybe this would be a good time to apologize for the whole 'being Buffy' thing," she said. The Marine continued his advance. The Slayer didn't have much time left to convince the young man to stand down. "Look, Riley, you need to think about what you're doing. I mean, I may be an evil psycho bitch, but the Tin Man beat your girlfriend so bad she was in the hospital. You really want to take orders from him?

Her words reached Riley. Faith could see his jaw clench, and sweat broke out on his forehead. Still, he lunged for the brunette. _Damn. I ain't killin' another human. Besides, B'd kick my ass if I bruised her boy toy before she got to break the news about Red._

Avoiding the lunge, the Slayer grabbed a tank in a rack against the wall. Swinging sharply, she caught Riley under the chin. His head snapped back and he staggered, but didn't go down. Irritated now, Faith commented, "Geeze, just stop already. I ain't wanting to kill, but I got more important things to do, ya' know?"

She whipped the tank through the air a second time. A dull thud sounded as it made contact with the Marine's stomach. Riley doubled over. The Slayer was waiting for that, and hit the young man forcefully as he bent in half. Finally, he dropped to the floor, unconscious. Faith left him there and headed after Adam.

Buffy watched impatiently as Xander and Giles moved tables and equipment from the center of the room. As soon as enough space had been cleared, Tara and Willow pulled magical supplies from the duffel. The redhaired witch placed candles on the floor in a triangular pattern, lighting them with a brief chant and a wave of her hand. Tara poured granules of salt or sand on the ground, surrounding the burning candles in a circle. The blonde witch left about two feet of the circle incomplete.

"OK. We're ready," Willow announced, looking at her teacher for confirmation.

The older witch nodded. "Mrs. Summers, come into the Circle and sit in front of one of the candles." When Joyce had taken her assigned place, Willow dropped into a cross-legged position at another candle. Tara turned to the three remaining Scoobies. "Whatever happens, don't break the Circle. During the casting, we'll be vulnerable to mystical forces. As long as the barrier holds, they'll be locked out."

"I understand, my dear," Giles said. "I'll protect the sanctity of the Circle. Xander and Buffy will keep the more mundane dangers at bay."

The blonde Slayer glanced uneasily at her mother and her girlfriend. The young witch caught her eye and winked. Relaxing slightly, Buffy smiled back and moved toward the door. Xander joined her, tazer rifle in his hands.

"OK, then. We'll get started." Tara poured the last of the granules from the pouch, finishing the Circle. Standing straight and holding her hands out in supplication, she chanted. Wind blew softly through the sealed room, and the emergency lights flickered. Blue light sparkled from the Circle before rising in a shimmering curtain toward the ceiling. The blonde witch waited a moment for the shield to stabilize and then she took the remaining seat in the triangle.

Dimly, Buffy could hear her begin the spell.

"Power of the Slayer and all who wield it,

Last to Ancient First, we invoke thee.

Grant us thy Domain and Primal strength.

Accept us in the Powers we possess."

The wind stilled. The senior Slayer felt a tickle in the back of her mind. Energy flowed through her. _Fuck_. "Giles!" she called urgently. "I can feel the spell. Shouldn't the power be going to Faith?"

The ex-Watcher looked concerned. "Yes. Bloody hell. If the power splits, Faith won't be able to defeat Adam."

"Then I'll go after her. Two of us should be enough, even with only half the magic."

"No!"

"Giles, I can't just…"

"Buffy, you must stay here." He was adamant.

Inside the Circle, Tara was also aware of the problem. Sensing two descendents, the First Slayer was confused. Her strength split, trying to infuse both girls. That couldn't happen. Thinking quickly, the blonde witch opened herself fully to the other women in the spell.

"_Willow, Mrs. Summers, we have to focus the power on Faith. Concentrate on Faith,"_ she thought through their link. Eyes closed, Tara couldn't see her companions, but she felt their agreement. Taking her own advice, the blonde called images of the Rogue Slayer to mind: the angry, mocking teen in Angel's apartment; the playful, sexy Slayer from the afternoon in the dorms; the focused fighter. The First Slayer responded to the images. Tara sensed the power moving from the room in search of its intended target.

Sighing soundlessly in relief, she continued with the incantation.

"Make us mind and heart and spirit joined.

Let the Hand encompass us.

Do thy Will."

The candle flames exploded toward the ceiling, and power rushed through the witch and the other two women. The force was so strong, it lingered in the air, visible. It was time to complete the bond. Turning over the top-most Tarot card at her side, the witch intoned,

"Spiritus, spirit."

She handed the next card to Mrs. Summers, who said,

"Animus, heart."

The third card was Willow's.

"Sophis, mind."

And, the final card. The blonde witch turned it upright.

"And Manus, the hand.

We enjoin that we may inhabit the Vessel,

The Hand, the Daughter of Cynea,

First of the Ones.

We implore Thee.

Admit us.

Bring us to the Vessel.

Take us, NOW!"

Tara felt the building essence of the First Slayer streak from the room. It was done. Now, they would have to wait for Faith's essence to join the link.

The brunette Slayer ran down the long corridor after her prey. Exiting abruptly into a control room, she spotted Adam watching the continued carnage in the base on a computer monitor.

"Fun, isn't it?" she commented.

The hybrid turned to face her, a frightening attempt at a smile creasing his face. "I do appreciate violence," he replied, moving toward her.

"Then you'll really like me," the Slayer quipped. She attacked quickly. Running straight at the creature, she leaped into the air a few feet from her target. At least, that's what she intended. Adam simply swatted her with his right arm, knocking her several feet back. The brunette hit the ground tucked into a ball and rolled safely to her feet.

Deciding to go all out, she flew at Adam and managed to land several kicks and punches before he seized her. With powerful movements, the demon-human hybrid slammed her against the computer console and then tossed her into the far wall.

Dazed, Faith lay there, watching the monster approach. A metal spike sprung out of his left arm. Jumping to her feet, she grabbed the spike and snapped it over her knee. Shuffling a few steps away, she taunted, "Hey, I just broke your arm."

A cold chill swept her body when Adam merely said, "That's OK, I've got another." He peered at a metal plate on his right arm. The plate popped up and Faith could see lights blinking on its surface. Suddenly, the human-looking hand morphed into a metal cylinder. After a moment of confusion, the Slayer realized it was a machine-gun style weapon.

_Holy fuck!_ The brunette threw herself across the space, jumping over the control console as gun-fire chased behind. The Slayer huddled behind the equipment. It was over. Somehow, the spell hadn't worked. Sending a silent apology to her witch and the Scoobies in Room 314, Faith vowed to go down fighting. Crouching, she waited for Adam to approach.

Her head snapped back and a scream tore from her throat. Raw power seared her veins. Dimly, through the roar of her heartbeat, Faith felt the three women acting as the anchors to the spell. She stood just as the console in front of her exploded.

"You can't last much longer," Adam said.

"We can." Faith wasn't in control any more. The words, the power, came from the combined strengths of the group. "We are forever."

The Tara/Willow essences chuckled at Adam's look of confusion. Strange words in an unknown language fell from Faith's lips.

"Interesting," the monster commented. He raised his weapon and fired straight at the Slayer.

The tiny portion of Faith still self-aware screamed in fear. But the bullets never reached her. More words of magic spewed from her mouth and a barrier of air halted the rain of metal slugs.

Looking shocked, Adam muttered, "Very interesting."

_That's an understatement,_ Faith thought to herself. The Slayer felt Tara's amusement at her internal comment.

Adam continued to fire into the magical barrier, looking more and more concerned. Finally, he sent a small missile at the Slayer.

Faith felt a new rush of power. The missile changed into white doves before hitting her chest. _Wicked cool!_ she thought at the others. A trio of smiles and laughter greeted the thought.

"_Let's end this,"_ the Slayer 'heard' Willow say.

The brunette's hand lifted and moved in a circular motion. Adam's metal arm returned to its more human guise. The two enemies walked toward one another. The monster attacked first, and if Faith had been more self-aware, she would have been awed at her own speed in evading the blows. Adam overextended, and the enjoined Slayer saw her opening. Lashing out in a series of kicks fueled by the primal energy of the First Slayer, Faith hammered at Adam. He went to his knees, driven down by the blows.

"How?" he gasped out, Faith's hand around his throat.

The Vessel responded, "You can never hope to grasp the Source of our Power." She flung him effortlessly across the room and followed. Pinning the hybrid against the wall, Faith drove her hand into the monster's chest. Fishing around inside, the Slayer grasped the power source and ripped it from its moorings. She stared at the glowing cylinder in her hand for a moment. "But yours is right here." The anchors urged action. Magic flowed through the link; chanting again sounded in Faith's rough voice. The power pack rose in the air, hovered for a moment, and disappeared in a flare of white light.

The Slayer gazed blankly at the empty air. Suddenly, the primal energy left her body, and the she crumpled to the ground.


	23. Chapter 23

Faith groaned. Her body ached and her head…The Slayer gazed around in confusion for a moment before memories of the battle with Adam returned. Climbing to her feet, she surveyed the cluttered control room. The hybrid slumped against a wall and computer parts and glass littered the floor. Taking an internal wellness check, Faith decided she was at least functional. Pushing muscles past the pain, she jogged back down the corridor.

As she ran, the Slayer tried reaching out to Tara. The link was gone. _Damn. If I feel this wiped out, wonder how the girls are doing?_ The narrow tunnel opened into the lab. Scanning the area, Faith saw Riley standing rigidly at attention. Swallowing a curse, she readied for battle. However, the Marine never moved. His eyes followed the brunette as she slid into the lab, but the young man remained in place.

"Riley?" Faith questioned. "Man, what the fuck did Adam do to you?" Seeing tears welling in the man's eyes, the Slayer looked away. There was no doubt in her mind that Riley wouldn't want anyone to witness his weakness. "Tell you what, Soldier Boy, B and the girls are up in 314. Give us a few to mop up, and someone'll be down for you. I'm sure Red or T can figure out how to fix you." A quick glance showed the tears had spilled unchecked down the Marine's face, but the eyes had lost the hopeless look.

"Cool. Stay put and I'll be back." Flashing a smile, the Slayer headed for the ladder to the upper level.

Gasping from the sudden return to her body, Tara dragged tired eyes around the Circle. Her ex-girlfriend slumped over, breathing ragged. Mrs. Summers looked asleep, eyes closed and breathing deep and even. Not bothering to get up, she turned her head toward the other three Scoobies standing sentry near the door. "Buffy?"

The blonde Slayer turned quickly. "Is everything OK?"

"Yeah. Adam's dead. Can you go find Faith, though?" Tara worried about the now vulnerable brunette. "When the link broke, all the energy grounded. Faith's going to be extremely weak for a while."

"On it," Buffy responded. She sprinted for the hidden door at the back of the room, but never reached it. The door to 314 exploded inward and a hairy demon stumbled in.

Giles and Xander opened fire, but the creature continued forward. They hadn't released the Circle. If it reached the magical boundary, the energy disruption would rebound on the caster. "Buffy, wait!" Tara called out. "The demon can't break the Circle."

Spinning around, the Slayer rushed to intercept the tall creature before it could blunder into the magical protection encircling the three women. "Hey, this isn't really a good time," the blonde informed the wounded demon. "Could you come back later?" It stared at her, blood matting its fur. "No? Well, I did warn you." Buffy caught the demon in the chest with her foot. It flew across the room, landing with a clatter on one of the exam tables. "Xand! Finish it, will you?"

Receiving a nod from the boy, the Slayer turned back to Tara. "Can you banish the Circle? I'll go after Faith as soon as you're safer."

"OK." The blonde witch struggled to get her mind working. Closing her eyes and concentrating, she located her center. Carefully tapping into the power of the shield enclosing the Circle, Tara release the magic and directed the energy back into the ground. As she funneled the power, she used some to refill her reserves and sent a wave to Willow as well. They both might need to be ready for action if the remnants of the Initiative-demon war were still around. As the last of the energy dissipated, Tara opened her eyes and looked at the hovering Slayer. "Go."

Not bothering to respond, Buffy hurried after Faith. Shoving equipment to the side, the Slayer tore open the panels hiding the ladder to the lab below. Clambering down, she nearly ran into the other Slayer. "Faith! Hey, you're OK."

The brunette gave her a strange look. "Yeah, B. Were you hoping for something else?"

"Of course not. Tara was worried though. The Magic Corps up there came out of the spell a little drained." Buffy grinned. "She thought you might be in a weakened and vulnerable state."

Arching an eyebrow, Faith smirked. "Huh. Might be good for getting some TLC later." She sobered. "Buffy, Riley's here."

Buffy checked her move to climb back up the ladder. "Riley?" The Rogue Slayer looked uneasy. "What's wrong, Faith?" she demanded.

"I don't know, B. Adam had some kind of control over him, and now he can't move or nothing.'" She gestured toward the back of the lab. "He's waiting over there. I told him we'd bring the witches down. I kinda thought Red could fix him."

The blonde knew they were still in danger. The fight with Adam was over, but Initiative soldiers and demons still filled the halls outside Room 314. "Right. Come on. Let's get the cleanup finished and then we can come back for Riley." She scampered up the ladder and waited at the top for the other girl to join her.

"Moving pretty good there, B. Slayer healing rules," Faith commented.

"I don't think that's it, though," the blonde answered. "I got a touch of the enjoining spell before Tara redirected it. Think the First Slayer got me ready for the showdown," she explained.

"Guess you didn't really need me, then." Faith's voice was expressionless.

Waiting until the other Slayer was off the ladder, Buffy smacked her on the arm and glared. "Get over it, Faith. So I got better and could help out. I only got just a hint of the power you did. Who knows what would have happened if I'd been the focus."

Looking into irritated hazel eyes, the brunette nodded. "Yeah, sorry, B. Habit, ya' know?"

A smiled twitched the blonde's lips. "Might want to get rid of the bad habits quick. I don't think Tara's going to put up with them."

"True, B. She's kinda controlling." The two broke into laughter. "You tell her I said that, and I'm gonna do something really evil to you."

"Is that a promise, Faith?" Buffy purred. She laughed harder when the Rogue Slayer's eyes widened. "Damn. Never thought I'd get the better of you in a conversation."

"Bitch." Faith couldn't stop the smile, though. "So, things go OK for you guys? I mean, the girls are just tired, right?"

"Yeah. They're good. We have to find a way out around a lot of soldiers." The blonde Slayer frowned. "I don't think the Colonel is just going to let us leave if he's still alive."

They entered Room 314 side by side. After scanning the room and doing a mental head count, Faith walked to Tara. "Hey, T. Doing OK?"

"Tired. You?" the blonde said.

Tilting Tara's chin so she could examine the witch, Faith replied, "Doing good, Blondie. A little tired, but still jazzed from the fight and everything. Come on." She grabbed the other girl's hand and pulled her up. "Let's get the hell out of here."

The Slayer continued to hold the blonde witch's hand as they returned to the rest of the group. Buffy and Willow stood close together, the taller girl leaning on her Slayer's shoulder. "B, any plans on leaving?" Faith asked.

"Too many demons and Marines left to try the front door," the shorter blonde replied.

"Well," Willow put in, "we could use the door in Adam's lab, couldn't we? I mean, the military probably doesn't even know it exists since the lab was a secret."

Six pairs of eyes stared at the young witch. "Sometimes, I think she's the only one of us using her brain," Buffy announced. The redhead blushed, but grinned. "OK, guys. That's the plan. Faith, can you block the door to the lab? We had an unexpected visitor earlier and I don't want anyone following us out."

"Sure, B." The brunette jogged to the middle of the room and began hauling exam tables and monitors over to the door. With a fair amount of grunts and curses, she piled the furniture against the door. It would move, but only after a lot of effort. "Hope that'll do."

"We'll help a little," Tara said. "Willow, link with me, please." An obviously confused Willow walked over and rested a hand on the blonde's shoulder. Silence spread through the room, and then the older witch began to chant. The instruments Faith placed against the door glowed bright white for a minute. Tara stopped chanting and the glow faded "That's it. I placed a magical lock on the door and made the equipment and tables twice their normal mass." She smiled crookedly. "But I'm too tired to do it right. The spell won't last more than thirty minutes."

"Nice work, guys." Buffy's smiled at both witches. "I'll take point. Xan, Giles, you come next. Faith can make sure we don't have a surprise from the rear." The blonde led the group back through the hidden door.

Faith waited for everyone to clear the lab and then tugged at the wall panels. They'd been damaged when Buffy had come to help her, but she managed to get most of them closed; although, they hung crookedly and there were visible gaps between the large tiles. The brunette Slayer hurried down the ladder and rejoined the small group now clustered around Riley.

"Hey, B. I'm not sure we can take care of this right now." The younger Slayer felt bad for her counterpart and her former boyfriend, but they needed to get out of the facility before the Colonel and his men found them. "Is there anyway we can get him out of here and fix him later?"

Willow tried to help the situation. "I could do a spell like Tara did with the stuff upstairs. Only, make him lighter, not heavier."

"No, Will. I don't want you to use too much energy." Buffy was adamant. "As long as we don't run into anything big, I can carry him." Bending slightly, the diminutive blonde settled her shoulder into the young man's stomach and lifted. He was far too tall for the hold to be comfortable, but Buffy nodded. "Let's go."

Banding together with the two men now in the lead, they located the exit into the caves and hurried out of the Initiative. Full night had descended while they were inside the base. Faith extended her senses. Demons and vampires littered the area. "B? You feeling what I'm feeling?"

"Yeah," Buffy grunted. "This isn't much better than going out the front door."

"Everybody stop for a minute," the Rogue Slayer ordered. "You guys rest here. I'm going to get us some transportation." Keeping her senses on high, she sprinted through the trees, heading for the road. Five minutes later, she exited the wooded area in a quiet Sunnydale subdivision. Two driveways held small cars. Not enough room for eight people. Faith smiled when she came to the third house. A minivan sat in front of the house. Blessing her unusual education, the brunette slid behind the wheel and reached under the dash. Hotwiring the engine took less than a minute, and Faith tore out of the subdivision.

The vehicle wasn't equipped for offroading. The Slayer clung grimly to the wheel as she bounced along the rutted path back through the trees. Careening into the clearing where the Scoobies had settled, she put the car in park and hopped out. "Anybody need a ride?" she said cheerily.

Six tired voices answered in the affirmative. "I'm driving us back, though," Joyce declared. "I think Slayers pay for their superhuman skills by being completely unsafe in a car." She stared at Faith until the girl stepped away from the driver's side door. "Climb in, guys, and let's get home."


	24. Chapter 24

Joyce stopped in front of the house and put the 'borrowed' minivan in park. "OK, everyone. Let's get into the house."

"What about the car, Mrs. S?" Faith asked.

The older Summers looked at her in confusion.

"I didn't exactly knock on the door and ask for the keys," the brunette Slayer explained. "We need to ditch it and make sure the cops can't trace it back to us."

Smiling slightly, Giles commented, "You aren't the only one with experience on the streets, my dear. Help Buffy get Riley into the house. I'll make sure the car isn't found."

"Don't ask, Faith, please," the blonde Slayer pleaded. "I really don't want to ever think about that whole thing ever again. Just give me a hand." She glared at a chuckling Joyce. "It's not funny. Just the thought…" she broke off, shuddering.

"Oookay, B." Deciding to ask about the byplay later, Faith hopped out and ran to the back of the van. Pulling open the door, she carefully maneuvered the frozen Marine over her shoulder. "Get the door, B. I got your boy."

Grimacing at the brunette's comment, the shorter girl trotted up the front steps and opened the door. Faith squeezed by and headed straight for the living room. With a grunt of effort, she dropped Riley onto the couch and stepped back. "Fuck. He's a load." She rotated her shoulders. "Think the juice from the spell's finally gone. Man, I'm tired." She leaned against the arm of the couch.

Joyce and the witches stumbled into the house. The older blonde gazed at the young man lying motionless next to the Slayers. "I'm going to fix something to eat. Any special requests?"

Faith quietly responded, "Thanks, Mrs. S." She flashed a grin. "You're too cool to be B's mom." Giggles greeted her words. "I'll pretty much eat anything ya' got."

Giving her brunette companion a miffed look, Buffy agreed. "Food is of the good, Mom."

Smiling at the group, Joyce headed for the kitchen. Willow walked over to the blonde Slayer. "I'm going to take a look at Riley. Could you grab my laptop from the bedroom?"

"Sure, Will." Without thinking, the Slayer leaned in and brushed her lips across the redhead's. "Oops!" She spun toward Riley. Even though he hadn't moved a muscle, Buffy saw the confusion in his eyes. "Fuck! I'm sorry, Ry. We'll get you fixed up and I'll explain everything." She hurried from the room.

Gently touching the Marine on the shoulder, Willow said, "Tara and I are going to do a little spell to check you for additions. You know, things like homing beacons and stuff." She glanced up as the blonde witch joined her by the couch. "You might feel a bit warm, but it won't hurt, OK?"

Tara took her hand and started to chant.

"Whoa. Hang on there, Blondie." Faith interrupted the incantation. "You ain't up to any more magic tonight." She glared at the two girls. "Soldier Boy can wait til morning."

"Faith, it isn't fair-"

"Fuck fair, Tara. I ain't letting you drain yourself." The brunette Slayer was adamant.

Releasing Willow's hand and moving in front of the agitated Faith, the older girl smiled crookedly and ran a gentle finger across the brunette's pouting lips. "Sweetie, this is just a tiny spell. I promise, between the two of us, we have enough energy to spare."

Faith stubbornly shook her head. "No. If I have to knock you out and carry you upstairs, you're getting some rest first." She tilted her head, hearing Buffy starting down the stairs. "Hey, B, I ain't sure it's safe for the witches to do any more magic tonight," she called out.

Buffy pounded down the stairs, arriving with her precious cargo. "What do you mean?"

"Don't listen to her, Buffy." Willow spoke up. "She's just being Control Girl. Like you even have a clue what we're doing."

Flushing at the dismissal in the redhead's tone, Faith tensed. "Look, Red. You want to drain yourself helping the Beefstick, go ahead. You can explain to your girl here about the whole sitch. But Tara won't be helping. She's already done too much."

The two adversaries squared off. Despite a lingering fear that Willow might slam her with a lightening bolt, the Dark Slayer wasn't going to back down. The blonde witch looked wan, with dark circles standing out against her pale skin. "Faith, I promise. I'll be OK." She took the shorter girl's hand and drew her away from the couch. In a low voice, she tried to explain. "I can take energy from the natural sources around me."

"T, I want to make sure you don't hurt yourself." The brunette looked away. "Can you take some of the energy you need from me?" she mumbled.

Tara was stunned at the offer. For someone who didn't know about magic, her Slayer instinctively understood the way it worked. "We could, Sweetie. But you're just as tired."

"Nah, Blondie. I'm tired, but that spell pretty much recharged the batteries." She unleashed her dimples. "I just need to take care of the Double Hs and get some sleep."

The wide grin drew a groan from the blonde witch. "If you promise to have enough energy for later," she smirked, "then Will and I can draw from you and Buffy to do the spell. Will that make you happy?"

"You taking care of yourself makes me happy, T," came the shocking admission.

Unable to resist, Tara pulled the younger girl in tight and kissed her heatedly. Nipping at Faith's tongue and stroking the sides of her breasts with eager fingers, the blonde witch forgot they had an audience. "Wow! That's hot. You think we should give it a try?" Laughter edged Buffy's voice as she teased her sister Slayer and the older blonde.

Growling, Faith moved Tara away a few inches and glared at a grinning Buffy. "Gonna have to talk about this teasing crap later, B. I got things I need to take care of right now." She pulled Tara toward the couch. "OK, Blondie, do your thing so we can get back to the good stuff."

Tara cleared her mind and found her focus. "Will, we're going to scan Riley for foreign matter. Instead of using energy from nature, though, we're going to tap our Slayers' energy."

"Umm, alright." The redhead shot her girlfriend a startled look. "How do we do that?"

"Extend your senses." Following her own directions, Tara pushed outward with her internal sight. "You should be able to see the energy around Buffy and Faith. Tap into it and draw a little of the power into yourself." She gently touched the golden aura surrounding the blonde Slayer and siphoned off a little of the energy. It warmed her channels when she fed it into her power reserves. Finally, Tara reached for Faith. The Dark Slayer's energy glowed a warm brown flecked with shimmering golden highlights. The witch smiled at the familiar feel of the brunette's energy. Flushed with the strength of the magic she'd gathered, Tara merged her aura with Willow's and began the incantation a second time.

As she'd told Faith, this spell was simple. Their combined powers sent a blanket of energy over the frozen Marine. As it passed along Riley's legs, the mystical cover remained a solid white. Pushing the power toward the young man's chest, Tara frowned. There was a dissonance interfering with the magic. The white sheet of energy turned a violent red as it covered Riley's chest. "Will, can you go a little deeper?"

"On it," the redhead replied. Willow sent a new ribbon of power toward the young man, focusing on the cause of the interference. Sinking into his flesh, she peered with astral sight at the layers of flesh and muscle. An object lodged just below the subcutaneous fat. "Here, follow my line," the younger girl directed.

Tara followed the glow of her friend's power. The object Willow pointed out was a small computer chip. It attached firmly to nerve endings in Riley chest and sent out a signal in repeating patterns. "I see it." The blonde witch used a directed burst of energy to disrupt the chip's signal, frying the circuitry. Riley jerked. Tara waited to make sure he was under his own control before withdrawing her senses.

"Ry?" Buffy said hesitantly. She and Faith hadn't been able to see what their witches had done.

The Marine smiled slightly. "Thanks, Buffy." He ignored the three other girls in the room and sat up. "What happened with the Initiative?"

"Lots of death and bloodshed," Faith pointed out. "Your buddies took on a lot of demons. Don't know if any of them survived."

"You didn't go back to check?" He was incredulous.

Buffy held up a hand to cut off Faith's reply. "Ry, we weren't in any condition to take on all the remaining demons. And we weren't sure the Colonel would let us leave. He wanted to arrest Faith."

Riley glanced at the younger girl. Part of him agreed with McNamara's decision. But, she had helped him escape Adam's control. "Yeah. I get it." He stood up. "I'm going to head back to the base and check things out."

The blonde Slayer followed him to the door. "Riley-"

"Don't, Buffy. I told you at the beginning if you were going to break my heart to do it quickly." He met her eyes. "That wasn't a friend kiss you shared with Willow. I always wondered if you loved her. I guess I have my answer." Yanking open the door, he walked away.

Buffy closed the door with a quiet thud and wandered back into the living room. Seeing the lost look in the Slayer's eyes, Willow pulled her into a warm hug, pressing feather-light kisses on the blonde hair. The young witch glanced up at Tara and nodded slightly when the older girl gestured at Faith and then the kitchen.

"Hey, Buffy. It's gonna be OK," she murmured. Tears ran hotly down her neck where the Slayer's cheek rested. The redhead pulled her lover away and looked into her eyes. "I love you, Slayer. Nothing will ever change that."

"Love you, too, Will." She nuzzled her lips against the taller girl's neck. Extending her tongue, she traced a leisurely path from collarbone to ear, stopping to suckle Willow's lobe. The action left both girls panting. "How about we head upstairs and you can give Nurse Willow a call? I mean," she nipped her girlfriend's pulse point, "I may have gotten hurt fighting the bad demon."

Laughing, the redhead, stroked the Slayer's strong back. "What about dinner?"

"I can eat upstairs," Buffy whispered hotly.

"You think?" Willow moved a hand between their bodies and cupped the blonde intimately over her jeans. "There isn't any food in your room. And, I know how hungry you get after a good fight."

Pressing down onto the witch's hand, Buffy started unbuttoning the redhead's shirt. "Yeah. I'm really hungry right now. Gonna take a lot to satisfy me."

"Fuck, B. Get a room or something." Faith's voice shattered the couple's passion. "Your mom said dinner's almost ready." Grumbling, the brunette Slayer stalked back into the kitchen.


	25. Chapter 25

Faith mumbled under her breath as she reentered the Summers' kitchen. The two blondes at the counter looked at her and smiled.

"Something wrong, Faith?" Joyce inquired.

Flushing slightly, the Slayer answered. "No, Mrs. S, I'm good." She grabbed a chair from around the table and straddled it, chin resting on the back.

"If you're so OK, why were you talking to yourself when you came in?" Tara smirked a bit, suspecting what Faith had seen. The borrowed energy of the earlier spell gave her a line into the emotions of the other three girls. She'd been inundated with waves of desire since leaving the living room.

Her Slayer gave her an irritated look. "Man, you know, T, the whole time I was working with B and the Super Friends, I never suspected little Miss Holier Than Thou could relax enough to have fun." Suddenly remembering exactly who was in the room, her eyes widened. "Ummm, sorry, Mrs. Summers."

The older woman smiled. "That's OK, Faith. I've often wondered about Buffy myself."

"Thanks ever so much, Mom," the girl under discussion griped. She and Willow walked into the room, hand in hand. "It's nice to know that my sex life takes up so much of you guys' time. Maybe Will and I should set up a video camera and you could just watch and learn."

Faith couldn't resist. "That'd be wicked cool, B."

The room erupted in laughter when Buffy spun to face her sister Slayer with a look of pure horror.

"Enough, girls. It's been a long day. Eat up and then get some rest." Joyce stood and began carrying bowls of food to the table.

Faith dried out the last bowl and stuck it in the cabinet. "All done, T. You ready for bed?" She leaned against the counter and watched her witch wiping down the sink. The blonde tossed the dish rag down and turned to smile at the waiting brunette.

"Ready if you are," she smirked. The older girl held out her hand, inviting her companion to move from her position across the room.

"You even have to ask, Blondie?" The Slayer stalked across the room and picked the witch up, cradling her against her chest. "Let's take this somewhere a bit more private." She started up the stairs, groaning when her cargo nipped and licked a fiery path across her throat. "Damn, T, you should register that mouth. It's freakin' lethal!"

Giggles emanated from the witch. "You're just easy, Slayer." Tara rested her head against Faith's chest, listening to the strong heartbeat as they climbed steadily to the second floor.

"Hey, that wasn't a complaint. Why'd you stop?" Faith inquired.

Snuggling deeper into the brunette, Tara mumbled, "I like listening to your heart." She blushed, hoping the overly romantic sentiment didn't scare Faith off. She was surprised when tender lips brushed the top of her head.

"Nobody's paid much attention to my heart before, Tara," the husky whisper commented. "It isn't worth much. You should look for something that still has value."

They entered the room while the witch tried to find a response to the self deprecating statement. As Faith gently set her on the ground, Tara buried her hands in the curly brown hair and held the Slayer's head in place. "I'm really tired of those kinds of remarks," she growled. "I spent a lot of years letting my family knock me around and tell me I was worthless. I understand where you're coming from, but have I ever done anything to make you feel less than magnificent?"

Rigid with shock, Faith stared into intense blue eyes. " Tara?" she questioned. "I didn't mean to upset you. It's just, you know, I ain't got much to offer."

"You've got everything I need, my Slayer." Knowing the battle with Adam was over and Faith's reason for returning to Sunnydale gone, the blonde witch threw caution to the winds. She pulled Faith's head down, pressing a gentle kiss to the pouting lips. "Show me what you've got, Slayer."

With a wicked grin, Faith accepted the challenge. The last time they'd played together, Tara had done most of the work, driving Faith mad with desire. The Slayer planned to reverse that action this time around. Clamping down on her own needs, she slowly removed the long tie-dyed skirt and T-shirt the witch wore. The older girl stood before her in bra and panties.

Not bothering to remove the white material, the brunette ran warm fingers under the shoulder straps, sliding them down to the witch's elbows. The fabric cupping the blonde's breasts sagged, leaving the nipples exposed. Grinning in anticipation, Faith placed slow, wet kisses on the flesh. Eventually, though, need won out and she increased the intensity of her kisses. Faith maneuvered Tara onto the bed and arranged the panting witch to her liking.

Slowly examining the flushed skin and hazy blue eyes, the Slayer removed her own shirt and bra before kneeling between Tara's legs. She quickly and efficiently removed the cotton underwear. One strong pull placed the blonde's core at the edge of the mattress, her long limbs straddling the brunette's body. Faith wanted to tease and torment before taking Tara over the edge. She avoided the glistening mound, focusing on the witch's silky inner thighs. Licking and nipping at the salty flesh, she smiled to herself when the blonde arched violently into her mouth, hands tangled painfully in her hair. When Tara's moans turned to broken verbal pleas, the Slayer gave in. With gentle fingers, Faith separated the soaked outer lips before her and caressed them with a puff of warm air. Leaning in, she flattened her tongue and blazed a fiery trail along the witch's opening, finishing at the swollen clit. She paused there, tongue pressed hard into the twitching bundle of nerves.

"Please, Faith. Oh, Goddess." Tara's words reached the Slayer seconds before the brunette slid a slim finger inside her. It was enough to send the blonde over the edge. Her release was so intense, the witch felt herself sliding into warm darkness. With a last surge of energy, she whispered the words of a spell.

Willow rested her cheek on Buffy's shoulder, waiting for her heart to stop racing. "For a straight girl, you sure do a good job, Baby."

A smirk clear in her voice, the Slayer responded, "Who you calling straight, Rosenberg? I seem to remember you screaming my name just a few minutes ago. A straight girl wouldn't be able to get that reaction."

"True." The redhead snuggled closer. "Buffy?"

Sensing a drastic change in mood, the blonde stiffened. "Yeah, Will?"

"What's next?"

"Well, I kinda thought we'd get some sleep." The smaller girl hoped to avoid any deep conversations.

Unfortunately her witch had other plans. A small hand tugged warningly on a nipple. "Buffy…"

"OK, Will, I get it." The Slayer grimaced. Why did her new girlfriend always want to talk? "Next…well, Adam's dead, but the Initiative is still around. We'll need to – uh, help them leave town." She stroked a lazy hand through Willow's tousled hair. "After that, I guess we wait for the next apocalypse."

"What about Faith?"

"Well, she can't stay here. The police are looking for her." Buffy frowned. It had been nice to have the other Slayer on the team. "We could try talking her into staying, but why would she? I mean, there's a lot of history here."

"I did some checking. The police don't really have much evidence against her." Willow pressed into the hand in her hair, nearly purring. "I'd feel so much the better if you had help with Slaying." She began to tease a finger in and out of the blonde's navel. "Do you think, if we can convince her to stay, that Giles and your mom would help with the legal situation?"

"Wow, I don't know." Fighting to stay focused on the conversation, the Slayer commented hoarsely, "I think the convincing should be aimed at Tara. She seems to hold a bit of sway over my little sister."

"Hmmm, good point." The witch rewarded her lover's magnificent idea with a slow, deep kiss. Pulling away, the redhead grinned at the look in her Slayer's eyes. She was so easy. "OK. We convince Faith to stay and the gang pitches in to get the cops out of the way. We can handle that. What about us?"

"Huh?" Was there some problem she didn't know about? Buffy tried to gather her scattered thoughts.

"I want to know how you want to handle 'us'." Willow pushed for a response.

Nearly whining at the amount of talking going on, the blonde mumbled, "Be glad to handle any part of you, Will."

"Buffy!" The Slayer's head snapped up. "Focus for just a few more minutes, please. Are we going to formally 'come out' or are we going to pretend we're just friends?"

"Will, I honestly don't care who knows what. I mean, I love you. If people have a problem with that, well, I'm the Slayer. I see lots of bruised humans in my future."

Chuckling at the grumpy statement, Willow decided she'd tortured the blonde girl enough for one night. "Sounds perfect, Baby. It makes me hot and wet when you get all Protective Buffy." The witch had enough energy left for one more round of lovemaking. Blinking big green eyes at the Slayer, she rolled on top of the smaller girl. "Let me show you just how hot and wet."


	26. Chapter 26

Faith turned around and looked at her witch, reclining on the bed. "I think it's strange," the blonde said. "I mean, I think I should worry."

"Worry about what, T?" the Slayer wandered to the bed and sat down.

Avoiding the question, Tara looked at the brunette. "You're not worried?"

Regarding her lover seriously, Faith replied, "I never worry here." A slow smile tilted normally pouting lips. "I'm safe here."

"Maybe." The blonde sounded sad. "But, am I safe with you?"

"What?" Shocked brown eyes stared at the faintly amused blonde. She stood and paced restlessly to the window.

"It's OK, Sweetie. They will find out, you know. About you."

_About me? What about…_Feeling sick, Faith watched as the blonde rolled over, wrapping the sheets around her body. In denial, the Dark Slayer mumbled, "I don't have time to think about that. I have a lot of work to do."

"Do you think you can get done before class?" The sheet pulled taut around the witch's form as she moved onto her back.

"Class? T, come on. I don't do class." Faith smirked. "You got something you wanna tell me, Blondie?" She waited for an answer, lazily checking out the body posed on the bed.

"That's why I was so surprised you'd enrolled in a drama course, Slayer." A flush rose on the blonde's face. "You don't want to be late. You might miss something important."

"But, I don't want to leave here." Faith was anxious at the thought. It really was safe here. Tara would make sure nothing harmed her.

"Why not?" The blonde sounded only mildly interested, but the question upset the Slayer immensely.

She turned away, walking to stand in front of the curtain-clad window. Lifting the heavy red velvet, Faith squinted into the sunny day outside. "It's so bright," she informed the witch. "And there's something out there," she said in surprise. A black shadowy figure moved through the desolate landscape outside the window.

Tara looked concerned. "Maybe you should check it out on the way to class."

"Sure, T, sure." The Slayer reluctantly grabbed a stake and a long knife. With a last, lingering look at the sexy blonde, she left the room. Once outside, the brunette found herself in the main hallway of Sunnydale High School. Lockers lined the walls, and she was happy to see Xander and Oz. "Hey, guys. What are you doing here?"

Willow's ex-boyfriend gave his small smile and walked with the Slayer as she headed for her locker. "I heard you're taking drama. Tough course."

Frowning in irritation, Faith looked at the slightly built young man. "Dude, I don't take classes. Been outta school for a long time."

"Maybe, but Buffy saw your name on the class roster. She was thrilled. She and Willow are taking the same class, too." Xander stood close behind the werewolf.

"Great. Welcome to the Hellmouth." Faith twirled the lock on locker number 137. "Think you could ask Giles to look into this? Cause I didn't sign up for a drama class, especially one with B and Red in it." Clicking the dial to the combination, the Slayer tried to open the narrow locker door. It didn't budge. "Fuck. I know that was the combination." She cleared the tumblers and started again.

A bell rang stridently. "Hey, better hurry, Faith. You'll be late," Oz commented.

"What is it with everyone?" the brunette snarled. "I ain't going to class. So there's no lateness to worry about."

Xander smiled goofily. "You have to go, Faith. They're all waiting for you. You've got the lead role; the show can't go on without you."

"Whatever." The Slayer stalked off, leaving the boys in the hallway. She headed toward the library, hoping Giles was there. However, when she shoved open the double doors, the teen found herself amidst a variety of costumes, with people scurrying around.

Warm hands grabbed her around the shoulders. Jumping in shock, she turned her head and saw Cordelia dressed in a traditional German outfit. "Isn't this exciting?" the cheerleader gushed. "Our first production. I can't wait for our scene." The taller girl grabbed Faith in a bear hug.

"Whoa, Queen C, what's up with you?" The Slayer stiffened in the embrace. She backed away, staring at the other brunette.

With her trademark hair toss and superior look, the prom queen snapped, "Nothing's up. Just be sure not to step on my lines."

"Whatever," Faith mumbled, confused and a little angry. She walked away, looking for the exit.

"Faith!" Buffy squealed from across the space. She ran over, decked out in a beaded, roaring twenties outfit.

With a smirk, Faith took a long look at her sister Slayer. "Looking good, B. Did Red help you pick that out? If so, gotta say her taste in clothes has improved."

"This place is packed!" The blonde, wearing a short black wig, exclaimed. She completely ignored the mocking comment. "Your whole family is here in the front row."

Faith froze. Her family? Fuck, no. "You sure, B?" she asked, panicking.

The shorter girl smiled. "Of course I'm sure. They're front row, center, and they look really angry."

_Yeah, I bet they are_. The Dark Slayer felt her stomach clench. It had been years since she'd seen her family, but it was still too soon for a reunion. Trying to keep her voice from shaking, Faith asked, "Hey, B, isn't this supposed to be a drama class? I mean, they don't normally do plays on the first day, right?"

Buffy looked at Cordelia. "Is that in the script? I don't remember that line." The shorter Slayer glared at Faith. "Just stop it! Stick with the script." The flapper stepped back and looked around the bustling set. "Where's your costume?"

"B, for the last time, I am not in any play and I am not taking a drama class. What the fuck is wrong with you?" The brunette was getting scared. Was everyone under a spell?

The older Slayer's eyes got big. "Don't worry so much, really! Your costume is perfect. No one will know the truth about you."

Suddenly, Faith felt the old urge to run flare up. She needed to get out of here. As she turned toward the backstage exit, a new voice rose above the din.

"Alright, everyone. Pay attention." Reluctantly pausing, the brunette turned to watch the speaker.

Dressed casually in a faded pair of 501s and a Grateful Dead T-shirt, he waved his hand, beckoning Faith to the center of the crowd. "Faith, are you ready?" The stage lights glinted off the gold hoop in his left ear as he gestured at the curtain behind him. "In just a few minutes, that curtain is going to go up on our first production. The theatre is packed." He slung an arm around a stunned Faith. "And they're all here to see you."

The Dark Slayer was about to respond when movement caught her eye. A shadow flitted through the crowd, disappearing between racks of clothing. "Hey, did you see that?" she asked the older man.

"Now, stay focused," he advised. "Stay in character, remember your lines, and energy, energy, energy, especially in the musical numbers." The man clapped his hands, and the costumed throng melted away, heading for various places backstage. It was time to get some answers.

"Got a few questions for you," Faith said.

"Of course, Faith," he responded. Shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans, he waited for his leading lady to begin.

"Who are you?" the Slayer asked. It was a lame question, but the brunette needed to know. So far, he was the only unfamiliar face.

The bearded man smiled genially. "I'm Professor Z. I'm the drama instructor."

"'K, see, that's a problem." Faith stepped closer, lowering her voice threateningly. "I ain't a student and I sure as hell am not in a play."

"The plays already started," he replied. "Have you rehearsed your lines? Your first scene is up soon."

Growling in frustration, the Slayer stormed off. To hell with this, she just needed to find Giles. He'd be able to help reverse the spell the rest of the Scoobies were under. Wending her way through the strangely dressed cast, Faith looked for a way out. Seeing an opening in the curtain, she stepped through, nearly stumbling over the person on the other side. Ready to apologize for barging in, the brunette paled, getting a good look at the individual. "Boss?" she gasped. Richard Wilkins III, late Mayor of Sunnydale smiled genially.

"Hello, Faith. I've been waiting for you." He waved a slim hand at the table in front of him. "I saved some room for these. I just knew you would want them."

Displayed on rich velvet, the Slayer noted the array of torture implements she had planned on using with Buffy in the Mansion. Sickened, she knew she had to leave _now_. Giles, Scoobies, spells, they didn't matter. She had to get out. Running past the still-smiling man, Faith dashed down a long, dark corridor between two curtains. Finally, not seeing an end to the passageway, she slowed and then came to a halt. Looking around in confusion, the brunette tried to find a way out. "Fuck!" she yelled. Tara appeared out of nowhere to her left.

"It's not going very well," the witch commented.

"No? Really?" Faith mocked. "What's going on, T?"

"You don't understand yet, do you?" Tara looked concerned.

It took every ounce of self control at her disposal, but Faith managed to withhold her scream of frustration. Speaking slowly, between clenched teeth, she said, "I don't understand jack, Blondie. All the funky conversations, the play…And, is something following me?"

"Yes."

"Damn." Faith tensed at Tara's answer. "I need to get to Giles. Maybe he can help me figure out what to do."

"Everyone's starting to wonder about you," the blonde said, staring at the Slayer in concern.

Throwing her hands in the air, Faith snapped, "Tell 'em to join the club, T."

"You have to take this seriously!" The witch looked frightened. "If they find out about the real you, they'll punish you. I can't help you with that."

The sick feeling returned, and Faith wiped sweating palms on her jeans. "Can you at least tell me what's following me? I mean, I just saw the Mayor. It got something to do with last year?"

"Shhh!" Tara warned. She glanced around.

Faith, too, examined their location. Faintly, the Slayer heard a conversation. "Hey, did you hear that?" she asked, trying to locate the source of the voices. It sounded a little like B, but the brunette couldn't be sure. Then, as quickly as they'd come, the voices disappeared. "Fuck!" Faith turned back to her girl, but she was gone. "Tara?" What the _hell_ was going on? Frantically searching for the missing witch, the Slayer forgot to keep her senses on alert.

A taloned hand shot through the curtain, slicing a narrow gash on her shoulder. Hissing in pain, Faith dropped to the ground, rolling away from the attack. More hands and the occasional knife ripped through the velvet. With nowhere to go, the Slayer huddled on the ground, trying to avoid getting stabbed or clawed.

A hand grabbed her arm. Faith couldn't help it, she screamed. "Faith! Come on!" Professor Z peered at her through a gap in the curtain. He pulled the prone brunette to her feet, but kept a firm hand on her back. "Stay low," he commanded. They crept through Restfield Cemetery. "What do they look like?"

"I don't know. I've never seen them," the Slayer answered.

"Of course you know, Faith. You've been here before." Her escort sounded impatient. "This isn't about a play; that's just the metaphor your mind created."


	27. Chapter 27

Tara snuggled into the warm body next to her. Reaching out with a tendril of power, she noted her wards hadn't been disturbed. Good. She opened her eyes, smiling at her Slayer. The beautiful brunette was still sleeping, but the witch noted lines of strain around mouth and eyes, and a deep wrinkle in her forehead. With a gentle hand, Tara smoothed the furrowed brow.

When she touched Faith, her relaxation disappeared. Something was wrong. The Slayer's aura was a steady blue, but the touch leaked emotions. The younger girl was scared, frustrated, angry. Responding instantly to the cocktail of feelings, the blonde shook her bedmate. "Faith? Sweetie, come on. Wake up." There was no response to her call. Worried, Tara muttered a quick spell. Her eyes widened at the results and she hurtled off the bed, quickly stepping into her discarded jeans and T-shirt from the previous day. Banishing the wards with a quick wave, she bolted across the hall and pounded on Buffy's door.

She wiggled impatiently until the door opened and a bleary-eyed Slayer glared at her. "What's the deal, Tara?"

"It's Faith." The witch got right to the point. "She's under some kind of enspelled sleep. I can't get her to wake up."

Buffy responded to the urgency in Tara's voice. "OK. Hang on." She closed the door with a snap.

By the time the Slayer and Willow stumbled into the hall, the blonde witch was frantic. She'd kept a link with her Slayer and the tension level in the brunette continued to rise. The three girls entered the storage-cum-guest room and stared at the sleeping figure. "I woke up and found her like this."

"Are you sure she's not just sleeping?" Willow asked. The brunette looked normal, if a bit younger and more vulnerable than the redhead had ever seen her.

"Yes. I'm sure." Tara spit the words out. "When I couldn't get her to wake up, I tried a divining spell. Someone or something has her in an enspelled sleep. The signature is familiar, but I couldn't place it."

The redhead frowned. "Can you do the spell again, with me linked? Maybe I'll recognize the signature."

Holding out her hand, Tara began the divining spell. The energy surrounded the sleeping Slayer gently, pressing and prodding at the boundaries of the power keeping the girl asleep. The first time, the blonde had only glimpsed the signature before going for help. This time, she and Willow pressed deeper. The power holding Faith was old. The witches looked at each other and released the spell. "Oh, Goddess," Tara breathed.

"Um, yeah, that's not good," Willow agreed.

The elder Slayer grimaced. She hated it when the two witches did this. "Hello?" She waved a small hand. "In the room, and I need an explanation, please."

"We need to check with Giles, but I'm pretty sure the power behind that sleep thing is the First Slayer." Green eyes regarded her girlfriend apprehensively. "I think we missed a side effect or two."

The gathered Scoobies waited for Giles to make his announcement. They'd been pouring over the texts regarding the enjoining spell for nearly an hour when the Watcher had cleared his throat. "I believe we may have inadvertently roused the First Slayer's ire when we included Faith in the spell."

Without thinking, Willow muttered, "Gee, I think I said that a few times." The strained silence in the room alerted her to unsolicited remark. "Um, oops. I said that out loud, didn't I?"

Despite her lingering irritation, Tara ignored the snide comment, focusing on getting her Slayer out of danger. "Why would she be angry? Faith's a Slayer."

"That, I'm afraid, it the part that is still unclear." He rubbed the bridge of his nose in vexation.

"So, what do we do next?" Buffy wanted to know.

Giles sighed tiredly. "Well, we need to find out why the spell has been cast and what, exactly, is its purpose. Tara, did you and Willow pick up anything when you performed the divination?"

"Not really. Just a general sense of Faith's emotions," Willow answered.

Her blonde mentor agreed. "I'd be willing to try again, though. If we altered the wording of the incantation, we might be able to get a glimpse of what's going on in her head."

"Excellent, my dear. While you and Willow try that, the rest of us will keep looking for an explanation." He ignored the groans from Buffy and Xander. "I am most concerned with why this is happening. One last thing before you go, girls. During the enjoining spell, did any of you feel a malevolent will from the First Slayer?"

All three of the anchors looked at one another, trying to remember details from the battle with Adam. Joyce was the first to speak. "Not really, Rupert. I felt the others very clearly, but the other energy was simply there. I didn't get any real feelings from it, just an energy boost."

Only Tara had anything more to add. "When I noticed the power was dividing, I could tell She was confused, but I didn't get anything more. What are you thinking, Mr. Giles?"

"Oh, nothing, really. I just wondered if perhaps there was an issue with there being two Slayers." Giles grimaced. "Let's not borrow trouble. See if you can find anything out from Faith."

Not wanting to waste more time, Tara pulled Willow up the stairs, explaining along the way about the new spell. "I want to try getting an image of what she's seeing in the dream. Maybe that will tell us what's going on. When we start the chant, focus your energy on matching her brain patterns, and I'll handle the wording."

"OK." The redhead eyed her former girlfriend. "When did you get so take charge? I mean, no stutter, no blush, and no hesitation."

The familiar half-smile appeared. "Too much to worry about right now. Besides, it was really only a problem when I was nervous."

"Oh, yeah, when the Hellmouth is lobbing demons and nasties at you, the nerves tend to fade into do or die instinct," the redhead agreed. They reentered the bedroom. Willow knelt by Faith's head, one slim hand resting on her forehead. Tara stood behind her and began chanting. Pale light surrounded the three girls, linking them together. The novice witch struggled to guide the energy into the Slayer and match the faint electrical pulses she sensed in the brunette's mind. Finally, with an almost audible pop, the energy flowed together. Images flickered in the witches' minds.

Faith stopped moving and glared at the bearded man. "Not about a play? Then why all the freaky costumes and the stage?"

"Get down!" he commanded, pulling her flat to the ground. "Look, this really isn't the place for explanations."

Despite screaming Slayer senses, the brunette had reached her limit. "Then talk fast, cause I'm done with this crap."

Professor Z looked frustrated, but began talking. "This is all a dream. You aren't in Restfield or in a play, you're sound asleep. Unfortunately, this is a special dream. You won't wake up until you've passed several tests and chosen your path."

The Dark Slayer stared at her companion. "If it's a dream, why all the drama over the vamps and demons? It ain't like they can hurt me in my head."

"They can, Faith. They can even kill you. Remember, this isn't a normal dream. It's a vision quest. You are here to discover who and what you are and will become. I am your guide. I'm here to provide information when I can, and I will await you at the conclusion of your quest."

A twinge in her senses sent the Dark Slayer lunging at her guide. She reached him just in time. A knife buried itself hilt-deep in the spot the professor had been occupying. Faith dragged him to his feet and they ran through the pitch-dark cemetery, stumbling over headstones as they raced for the exit. Faith cursed the whole set up. She'd left Tara's room before going to the drama class with a knife and a stake. Now, she was unarmed.

"OK." She shoved the panting drama professor against a mausoleum. "Stay put. This may look like Restfield, but it ain't. We've been by this same place twice already. I need to find a weapon and take a look at what's following us." Leaving him, the Slayer quickly headed back toward their original position. Her senses stretched out, she kept watch for demons or vamps, but felt nothing. After several nerve-wracking minutes, Faith found the spot they'd been attacked. She frowned. There was no trace of anyone having been through the area. No footprints, no flattened grass where they'd hugged the ground, no knife.

Something wasn't right. _Of course it ain't right. I'm in a dream._ Cursing, the brunette decided to sweep the cemetery before returning to her guide. Spinning on her heel, Faith ran…

Tara had seen enough. Brushing Willow's mind, she began to pull away from the dream. "Did you get all that?"

"Yeah. Damn. A vision quest." The redhead sat back on her heels. "Is there a way we can help Faith with the tasks she has to complete?"

"Maybe. The guide said something about having to find herself. I want to talk to Mr. Giles, but we could try putting ourselves into the dream, picking the scenes. We'd have a chance to influence things, but we can't tell Faith what to do. Vision quests only work if the person experiencing them is sincere and genuine." Tara fell silent.

The vision quest didn't take long to explain to the re-gathered Scoobies. "I want each of us involved in the enjoining spell to take part in one of the tasks." Tara swept the room with determined blue eyes. "Pick something from your personal history with Faith – some moment when a different decision would have altered everything that followed."

"What about me?" Buffy queried. "I wasn't supposed to be part of the magic, but the First Slayer did touch me."

"Then you'll need to be a part of this, too." Tara frowned. Four women; four tasks. She hoped it would be enough. "Buffy, do you know what event you'll be focusing on?"

Swallowing her sudden unease, the Slayer nodded. "Yeah. There are a couple doozies to choose from, but I think I know which one was the most damaging to my relationship with Faith."

…down an alley. _What the fuck?_ The thought stopped abruptly when a figure hurtled in front of her. Without thinking, the Dark Slayer swung her stake, pinning the vamp to the wooden crate behind it. When the vamp didn't turn to dust, the brunette looked closely at her opponent. Allen Finch stared back at her, confusion in his eyes and blood trickling from his mouth.

A leather-clad Buffy pushed the stunned teen out of the way. "Don't move," she told the Deputy Mayor.

"I-I-I didn't know." Faith felt sick. It couldn't be happening again. It had to be the freaking dream thing. "B, we have to get out of here." She started backing away, shaking her head.

"Faith, we need to call 911!" The blonde Slayer look terrified. The man on the ground didn't seem to be breathing.

Responding to her own not-so-inconsiderable terror, Faith pulled Buffy away from the corpse. "B, it's too late. We gotta motor before the cops get here." Unfortunately for the brunette, she'd forgotten just how stubborn her sister Slayer could be.

Wrenching away, the senior Slayer snapped, "I'm not leaving him here. It was an accident, Faith. The police will understand."

"No. They won't!" The Dark Slayer gave in to her fears, and sprinted from the alley. Fueled by adrenaline, she ran unseeing through downtown Sunnydale, the aftermath of Finch's death tumbling over and over in her mind. The streets were strangely deserted. No cars, no people. Sliding to a stop in front of Sunnydale's only movie theatre, the frightened teen tried to come up with a plan.

"Still running, Faith?" Professor Z's voice taunted.

Faith looked around, but she didn't see the drama professor. _Forget the plan_. She took off again, heading for the docks. However, as the brunette turned off Main Street, she ran…

…down an alley. _Oh, come on already._ The thought stopped abruptly when a figure hurtled in front of her. Without thinking, the Dark Slayer swung her stake, pinning the vamp to the wooden crate behind it. When the vamp didn't turn to dust, the brunette looked closely at her opponent. Allen Finch stared back at her, confusion in his eyes and blood trickling from his mouth.

A leather-clad Buffy pushed the stunned teen out of the way. "Don't move," she told the Deputy Mayor.

Faith froze. This had just happened. Praying to any god or goddess who would listen, she begged for the nightmare to stop. The Dark Slayer looked at her blood covered hands and her stomach heaved. Kneeling in the filthy alley, she vomited helplessly.

"Faith, we need to call 911!" The blonde Slayer look terrified. The man on the ground didn't seem to be breathing.

Wiping her mouth with a trembling hand, the brunette saw the fear in the hazel eyes. "We can't call the police, B. They'll lock us up."

"We can't just leave him here. He's human. We killed a human, Faith!"

"No, B." Sad brown eyes met frightened hazel ones. "I killed a human. You ain't involved. Go on back to the Super Friends." The brunette Slayer took a deep breath. "Once you're gone, I'll call the cops."

Buffy slowly stood, hands dangling at her sides. They were stained red from the Deputy Mayor's blood. "What?"

"Just go, B. One of us has to be here to take care of the Hellmouth. You're the Slayer, B. I'm just some white trash wanna-be." She gestured at the corpse. "I'll tell the cops it was an accident." A tiny inner voice screamed at the brunette, demanding she leave her counterpart to take the fall, but Faith ignored it.

"Why would you do that, Faith? I tossed him to you. We're both involved in this." Buffy held out a hand. "Don't do this alone. Come on. We'll call Giles."

Swayed by the silent plea in her sister Slayer's eyes, the younger girl nodded and took the offered hand. "OK, B. We'll do it your way."

The blonde grinned at her. "See? That wasn't so hard."

The panic slowly faded, and Faith moved closer…


	28. Chapter 28

The alley disappeared. Music pounded through a dim room. The Bronze. _Now what?_ The teen club was familiar and the Dark Slayer wasn't sure why she was here. Someone bumped into her from behind, and liquid drenched the back of her shirt. Grinding her teeth, Faith spun around, ready to blast the moron who'd doused her with their drink.

"Hey, um, Faith. Look, I'm sorry about the impromptu bath. I mean, I didn't really plan on it or anything." Willow's green eyes pleaded with the brunette.

"Fuck, Red. Still managing to screw everything up." She smirked. This wasn't so bad. The lingering fear dissipated. _Wonder what's so important about tonight_? "You and the Super Friends here to tell B how great she is?'

The redhead flinched and dropped her eyes. Faith almost laughed. She'd forgotten how pathetic the witch was back in the day. No great magic and still hanging all over the werewolf. "The gangs all here, yeah. We're trying to figure out how to help find the Glove." She smiled hesitantly at the intense brunette. "It'd be great if you joined us. Kinda make it complete. All the Scoobies reunited."

"I'm not a Scooby, remember?" The words poured out, harsh and bitter. "You guys don't want me here. Saint Buffy's got Sunnydale all locked down and under control. Just as soon as we find this Glove thing, me and Gwen are heading out. I got better things to do than hang around you and your pathetic little group." Faith frowned. That wasn't the truth. The thing with Adam had been sweet.

Her companion nodded. "Sure. You're choice I guess."

"Give the gang my regrets." Faith turned away. She needed to get moving, find the Professor or the next test. Nothing big was happening here. Trying to remember the timeline, the Slayer remembered this was shortly before the big showdown in the Mansion over Angel and her fake Watcher. She shoved her way through the throng of people and headed for the door. Maybe she needed to pay Mrs. Post a visit. Just as she stepped from the Bronze…

Buffy blinked, feeling her heart race and tears wet her face. Giles and her mother watched expectantly. "Wow. What a rush." She stood shakily. "Everything OK, here?"

"Yes." Her Watcher looked impatient. "Is Faith doing well? Were you able to help her?"

Nodding slowly, the blonde Slayer replayed the two scenes in the alley. Poor Faith. Her choice of a trial had to have been awful for her sister Slayer. "Yeah, Giles, I think so. We replayed the night Allen Finch died. The first time," she stopped, panic flowing again as images of the man's death playing in her mind. "The first time was pretty much just the way it really happened. Except, I think Faith freaked when she realized we were reliving it. She ran. I tried to follow her, but the dream reset, and the whole thing started over, just as she stabbed him."

"Oh, honey." Joyce gripped her arm. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Mom. I think Faith is, too. After everything started over, it was really different. Allen still died, but she didn't run. Instead, she told me to leave and she'd deal with the police." She looked at Giles. "She's absolutely sure we see her as a second-rate Slayer, but she stepped up and was willing to take the fall so there would be a Slayer on the Hellmouth. No attempts to avoid responsibility or anything. I even got her to agree to call you instead of the police and let us help her."

"Good Lord, could it have been that simple?" Giles ran a hand across the bald spot developing on the top of his head.

"No, Rupert," Joyce commented. "Faith wasn't ready for that decision then. I think we all need to remember this isn't the same girl we knew. She's changed. Part of her passing this test is showing she is willing to change the actions of the past."

Buffy heard her mother's words, but most of her attention was focused on her girlfriend. "How long was I under?"

"About an hour. Tara got started with Willow just as soon as we knew you'd pulled out of the dream. It's been almost," Giles checked his watch, "thirty minutes, give or take."

"OK." She walked over and sat near the prone redhead. Willow was stretched out on the bed next to Faith, and both girls looking incredibly stressed in their sleep-like state. Tara stood over them, one hand on each head. Sweat poured down her face as she kept the two girls linked in the quest.

…Music pounded through a dim room. The Bronze. _OK, then. I guessed wrong. Something big does go down here. _ Knowing the meeting with Willow was inevitable, Faith moved toward the bar until someone bumped into her from behind, and liquid drenched the back of her shirt. Steeling herself, Faith spun around, ready to face the shy redhead.

"Hey, um, Faith. Look, I'm sorry about the impromptu bath. I mean, I didn't really plan on it or anything." Willow green eyes pleaded with the brunette.

"Red. Hope you weren't in dire need of that drink." She smirked and pulled her soaked shirt away from her skin, flapping it a little. _How much can I change? Fuck that. What do I need to change to get a pass outta here?_ "You and the Super Friends here to tell B how great she is?'

The redhead flinched and dropped her eyes. It had been funny the first time, but the Dark Slayer remembered how "current Willow" had been recently. There might be some lingering anger over past events, but the witch wasn't so bad. "The gang's all here, yeah. We're trying to figure out how to help find the Glove." She smiled hesitantly at the intense brunette. "It'd be great if you joined us. Kinda make it complete. All the Scoobies reunited."

Faith wanted to say yes, but she was hesitant. What would happen if she altered the past too much? Would things get worse? She stuck to the script for the next exchange. "I'm not a Scooby, remember?" But she had been, Faith realized. She hadn't yet severed the tenuous bond with the other teens. Still, she had to continue. "You guys don't want me here. Saint Buffy's got Sunnydale all locked down and under control. Just as soon as we find this Glove thing, me and Gwen are heading out. I got better things to do than hang around you and your pathetic little group."

Her companion nodded. "Sure. You're choice I guess." Somewhere in the conversation, though, the past had been altered. Willow didn't stop there. The girl's backbone peeked out. "This isn't really our fault, you know."

"Do tell," the Slayer mocked.

Willow flushed so brightly it was visible even in the dark bar. "Yeah, we weren't real happy about adding a new member. We've been good enough to handle the demons and stuff all by ourselves before. But, Buffy's been way happier since you got here." She bit her lip. "Me and Xander don't get the whole Slayer thing. You do. Buffy needs you, Faith. That means the Scoobies need you. Come on. We've got a table and I'll go back and get us some drinks. Just a little bit of your time. That's all. No strings or expectations."

Faith stared at the older girl, confused. She'd figured out she had to alter the scenes in her dreams, had to fix something she'd done in the past. Had she succeeded?

Sensing her hesitation, Willow pushed harder. "Please?" She stepped closer, pressing into the brunette. Looking up through her lashes, she pleaded, "I promise we won't bite."

The Dark Slayer barely managed not to jerk away. What the fuck? This wasn't Willow, was it? She grabbed the other girl's chin and peered into her green eyes. Looked like Red. Biting her lip, Faith mentally shrugged. What the hell. If this wasn't the change she was supposed to make, everything would probably rewind, just like last time. "Whatever, Red. Grab me a Jack and Coke. I'll be at the table."

"Hello? Underage, Faith." Willow glared impatiently at the smirking brunette before pushing her in the direction of the gang's table. "Just go, will you? I'll get you something legal and be there in a few."

"Yeah, OK." Suddenly more at ease, she grinned at the startled redhead. "Thanks, Red." Faith ambled through the crowd, spotting Buffy and Xander sitting at a small table in a dark corner and picked up her pace…

…"Faith? Honey, are you OK?" Mrs. Summers smiled at her, hand outstretched. "If you hand me the ornament, I'll put it on the tree."

Dizzy from the rapid changes in time and place, the brunette simply handed the red globe over to Buffy's mom and tried to figure out where she was this time. This one didn't take long. She'd only been at the Summers' for one Christmas. She frowned. Was this before or after Buffy's disappearing act to help Fang?

"Hey, um, Mrs. S, what time is it?" she asked.

The older woman looked at her in concern. "Maybe we should call Rupert." A warm hand cupped her chin and hazel eyes stared into Faith's brown ones. "I don't know what's wrong with you girls. First, my daughter goes tearing out of here on some unexplained mission, and now you look awfully pale."

Suddenly, the Slayer realized just what was about to happen – and what she more than likely needed to change. Swallowing, she tried to smile at the concerned Joyce. "Hey, it's no big, Mrs. S, really. Been a long time since I celebrated Christmas, ya know? Kinda got lost in some not so good memories." _Huh. And that's not even a lie_. "Let me grab some more ornaments and shit-"

"Faith, language!"

_Oops._ "Yeah, sorry about that. Anyway, I'll get some more things for the tree." She turned away, grabbing decorations blindly from the large box on the couch. This was worse than the night Finch died in so many ways. Joyce was about to offer her the world on a platter. This time, Faith vowed, she was going to make sure she didn't screw it up. She couldn't. The Dark Slayer had noticed the pattern to her dream. Things repeated until she broke down and accepted help and friendship from the Scoobies. "Here. Will these work?"

Joyce smiled at the young girl. "Perfect, Faith. I haven't seen some of these in years." She looked closely at the ornaments. "Buffy made these when she was in elementary school. We always knew she wouldn't be an artist."

Examining the misshapen ceramic shapes – Faith didn't know what they were supposed to be – the younger Slayer had to agree. "That's good, though. See, B's doing what she was meant to do. Save the world. She's the best." For once, that thought didn't make the brunette angry or bitter. It was simply the truth.

"I'm sure you'll be just as good, Faith. Rupert's an excellent teacher. Just give yourself a chance." Joyce hung the ornaments and stepped back, wrapping an arm around her helper's shoulders. "It's fabulous. Thank you so much for your help. I'm sure you had plenty of other things you could have been doing. Spending time with the elderly must be way down on your list of things to do."

Faith laughed. Mrs. S was amazing. "You ain't elderly." At the blonde's smirk, she grinned and allowed, "Well, ya might not be jailbait, but I got no complaints." An unaccustomed shyness struck, and the Slayer dropped her eyes, mumbling, "I'm having a great time, Mrs. S. Really. First time Christmas's been something to enjoy."

The Slayer found herself the recipient of a "Mom hug." "You know, you're always welcome here, Faith. In fact," Joyce looked down at the brunette head, "I would feel a lot better about things if you simply moved in with Buffy and me."

"What?" Faith's head snapped up.

"I want you to move in. It's not right, you staying alone in that motel. The Council must be out of their minds. You're too young to be on your own like that, even if you are a Slayer." The older woman stepped back. "I've got a spare bedroom upstairs. Buffy won't be back for a while. Let's go get your stuff."

Things were moving so very fast. If only she'd been ready for this in reality. _Don't matter. I'm ready now._ Meeting Joyce's eyes, Faith changed the past. "Ain't gotta ask me twice. Be glad to leave that piece of…" Seeing the raised eyebrow, she rethought her reply. "Be glad to move out of the Sunnydale Arms. Saw a cockroach the other day as big as a dog."

"You'll certainly liven things up." Joyce chuckled and seized Faith's hand, pulling her toward the door. "Maybe you'll even be able to loosen up my straight-laced daughter."

They left the house, and Faith…

"Are you ready, Willow?" Giles asked the nervous redhead.

Gripping her girlfriend's hand, the witch looked anything but ready. However, someone had to put Tara into the vision quest. "Yep. I'm ready." Taking a deep breath, she decided she needed some encouragement. Grabbing Buffy, she pressed her lips urgently to the Slayer's. After a brief moment of inaction, the blonde returned the kiss and things quickly got heated.

Loud throat-clearing finally broke them apart. "Oookay. I am ready now. Very, very ready." Willow didn't elaborate on what, exactly, she was ready for. She didn't want Giles to faint. She moved to the bed and waited for Joyce to wake.


	29. Chapter 29

Buffy and Giles moved Joyce from the bed when she seemed free of her dream state. Now came the tricky part. In order to maintain their link with Faith, Willow had to merge with Tara, taking over control of the dream. The blonde witch then had to join the Dark Slayer on the bed while Willow connected her to Faith's subconscious. Willow moved next to Tara, placing her hand on the one resting on the brunette's forehead. Dropping into a trance state, she skillfully touched the older girl's aura, letting her know it was time to do the change over. For a split second, the redhead felt the extent of her ex-girlfriend's power. It drained away, and she focused on holding the link steady. Even at this early stage, she struggled to pull in enough power to complete the task.

A short time later, she sensed Tara was ready for the next step. Her right hand touched blonde hair, and she began to tie her two charge's essences together. Sweat beaded her hairline and she fought the power coupling. With a burst of energy, though, she managed to match the electrical pulses. Tara was in.

…opened her eyes and peered at the blonde head nestled on her shoulder. _Damn. What a dream._ She took stock of her surroundings, just in case she hadn't imagined the Professor and his freaky vision quest. The crowded guest room met her eyes, and Faith relaxed, running a gentle hand down Tara's back. She wasn't sure what the dream meant. It hadn't felt like a Slayer dream, but it was still so vivid in her mind. Shrugging off her unease, the brunette tried to go back to sleep. Every time her eyes closed, though, she jerked awake, breathing ragged.

Mumbling dire threats against evil monsters and drama professors, Faith carefully rolled out of bed. Her body ached, and she felt fuzzy-headed. The guest room didn't offer much in the way of chairs, so she contented herself with standing against the bed, admiring her sleeping witch. The flood of emotion caught her off guard. How had Tara gotten inside her defenses so quickly? The Slayer smiled crookedly, remembering the fire in the blue eyes back at Angel's apartment. Watching the rise and fall of the cotton-wrapped chest, Faith felt the first stirring of an old need. Time to run, get out.

Thoughts and feelings she'd never wanted raged inside. With an unaccustomed inner-truth, the Slayer realized she was terrified. In the past few days, she'd found a place in Sunnydale. A good place. And she'd made a tentative peace with the Scoobies. Faith was afraid she'd screw up again. She was afraid it would all go bad. The brunette had tried being part of the team once before. The results had been disastrous. When things imploded the first time, she'd really only lost her bond with Buffy. This time, she risked far more. Better to leave now. Staying meant maybe losing new friends…and Tara. The Slayer knew she couldn't stand to see Tara turn her away. It was easier to walk away before she crossed the point of no return.

Faith took a step back and froze. She didn't want to leave. Arguing with herself, the brunette marshaled all the evidence of a new and improved Faith. She had come back to Sunnydale, facing arrest and possible dismemberment from Willow to help. The Scoobies had listened to her, let her in, trusted her with their lives. Somehow, Faith knew the gang would help her with the police and the murder charges. For a brief moment, she closed her eyes, imagining a future with the blonde witch and a family.

That vision was too much. Even though she'd gained some kind of acceptance from Buffy and crew, Faith knew she didn't deserve any of it. She'd just betray them and her Calling again. She didn't have what it took to stay on the right side of the fight. Dropping her head tiredly, Faith realized it was time to go. Dawn was a few hours off, and the house was quiet. Slayer senses told her everyone was asleep. She'd be out of Sunnydale long before they woke. She stepped away from the bed, blinking away the dust that had gotten in her eyes, and climbed into her clothes. Brown eyes flickered back to the sleeping form. _I'm sorry, T. _

Slinking to the door, she reached out a shaking hand – and bit back a shout. Blue sparks flared where her fingers brushed the doorknob.

Spinning around, she looked into irritated blue eyes. "Morning, T," she tried.

"Faith." Tara's voice was flat. "Going somewhere?"

The Slayer didn't have an answer for that. At least, not one that was plausible. Hunching her shoulders, she leaned back against the door.

"I set the wards, hoping they weren't necessary." The witch sat up, back against the wall, keeping a close watch on the younger girl. "Why are you running, Sweetie?"

There was no way Faith was going to respond to that. "Just open the door, T."

"No."

"Fuck you, witch. Am I some kind of freakin' prisoner now?" The Slayer stalked to the bed, looming over the blonde. The action didn't get the response she expected. Tara threw off the covers and knelt on the bed, unafraid of the brunette.

"You want to run, Faith? Is that it? What are you afraid of? Loving me? Being a Scooby?" The witch reached out and rubbed at the frown on her Slayer's lips. "Please don't be scared. You don't have to be comfortable with everything going on. I know it's a lot and it happened all at once."

Faith hesitated. The finger stroking her lips was warm, soft. Unwillingly, she leaned into the caress. "T, I-" she broke off, staring at the wall behind the blonde. It rippled, seeming to expand and contract. Grabbing Tara, she yanked her off the bed, pushing the taller girl behind her.

"Oh, Goddess. I was afraid of this," the blonde whispered.

"What's going on, T?" the Slayer demanded. After a few minutes, the strange roiling had stopped and everything looked normal. Not trusting her senses, Faith moved to the bed and leaned across, gingerly touching the wall. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Tara pulled on her jeans and top before closing her eyes and grounding the energies holding up the warding. "We need to leave, Faith."

This time, the Slayer dug in her heels. She may have been on the verge of running, but now she thought it best to stay. "Not until you explain all this."

The witch smiled wryly. "Well, I don't think you're going to like it."

"Big surprise, there, T. Welcome to SunnyD and my life." Faith grinned. "Just give it to me in small words, 'k? What the hell is going on?"

"We're still in the vision quest." Tara grimaced at the Slayer's look of amazement. "I know. You thought we were back at Buffy's. I wanted it that way." Quickly and concisely, she detailed the Scoobies interference in the quest.

"So, you guys got into my head? All the scenes…they're because of you?" Faith's emotions swung from tentative happiness at their willingness to help and a burning rage at the interference.

Tara saw all of that when she scanned the brunette's aura. "Yes." She didn't want to push, but the Slayer's confusion tore at her. "We didn't know what the First Slayer was angry about. Vision quests can be dangerous." She hid behind her hair and whispered, "W-we just wan-wanted to help."

"You did good, T." The Slayer sighed, trying to pin her emotions down. "Give me a bit to deal with the whole 'Scooby in my head' thing. Beyond creepy."

Her Slayer senses screamed.

"Think you may have had the right idea, Blondie. Something's coming." There wasn't anything very useful among the discarded items in the former storage room. Cursing, she twisted the metal legs off the bed and handed two of them to her companion. The tingle running along her spine grew. "Fuck. Think it's downstairs."

She scanned the room, desperate for something, anything that would help. "Window. Let's go, Blondie." She jumped onto the bed and opened the window. Both of them scrambled for the roof, stumbling along the angled surface. Reaching the edge, Faith peered over. It was a long way down. Unlike Buffy's old room, there was no tree to help with the descent. "I'll go first, Tara. Once I'm on the ground, jump."

"You think you can catch me?" A blonde eyebrow shot up.

The Slayer shrugged. "Probably not. But if you sorta dangle off the edge, I can get you down safe." Taking her own advice, Faith slipped over the edge, holding onto the eaves until the last minute. The several-foot drop was jarring, but didn't cause any lasting damage. "Hurry up, Blondie. Whatever's inside is upstairs now." Seconds later, she grabbed the witch's legs, letting her slide down her body to the ground.

"You're the vision expert, T. Where do we go?" Faith asked.

"Anywhere that isn't here," came the sharp response. A frustrated roar sounded from the house. "I don't want to meet the source of that noise."

"Good point." The Slayer took the older girl's arm, and they ran down the street toward downtown. A block later, the brunette noticed holes appearing in the background. Instead of manicured lawns and middle class houses, portions of the scenery were simply missing. Total blackness filled the gaping spaces. "Damn. Things are going to hell fast. What happens when the scene you created disappears?"

Gasping from breath, Tara shook her head. "No idea. Best case…the First Slayer picks the scene."

"Worst case?" Faith ground out as they passed a larger section of nothingness.

"We get sucked into some sort of dimensional rift?"

"I ain't never bringing you on another quest, understand?" They'd reached the edges of downtown, and Faith dragged them to a stop. "We gotta stop, T."

Busy sucking in much-needed air, the witch didn't respond.

Faith reached out with her senses. The area was filled with demons and vamps. All of them seemed to be converging on their location. "You got any witchy tricks up your sleeve?"

"No." Tara felt for her power reserves and found them blocked. "Someone's interfering."

"Then we need to find a better location for the big showdown. We've got company coming." The Slayer reached into her memory of Sunnydale, trying to come up with a more defensible spot. "Got it. Let's go."

The place she chose wasn't ideal, not by a long shot. However, the narrow alley meant their attackers had only one way to enter. The surrounding buildings were old and dilapidated. Faith prayed to any higher being in existence that the rooftops wouldn't bear the weight of the demons on their heels. Shoving Tara behind her, she faced the entrance, bent metal legs in hand and waited.

Holding the ephemeral bonds with Tara and Faith settled into monotony. Willow relaxed into the magic, feeling the steady beat of both hearts and the comforting flare of their thoughts. Even though most of her concentration centered on keeping Tara in the vision quest, she heard the faint rumblings of conversation in the bedroom and smiled.

Suddenly, a secondary source of energy tore through the bindings of the spell. The redhead fought off panic and repaired the damage. However, Tara was more experienced and more powerful. The new bond wasn't so seamless as the original. Willow poured energy into the spell, but the excess didn't help. Instead, the overflow leaked out of the coupling, draining her even further. Bursts of green light exploded from the tenuous link Willow was holding. She felt the power growing, pushing her out of the bond. "Buffy, Joyce, help!"

She couldn't see either woman, but she felt them next to her, worried, needing answers. The witch was afraid to split her focus, however, and simply ordered, "Put your hands over mine." Willow was going to take them all back inside. The fracturing of the bond would leave Faith and Tara trapped and alone. No way was that going to happen. Pulling in energy from her Slayer, the redhead created a new link, keeping her magical hook small and unobtrusive. She'd have to be careful, making sure the First Slayer didn't realize what she'd done until it was too late. By the time she'd created the five-fold coupling, she was trembling with the effort and the amount of raw energy rushing through her channels. She pulled the links tight and drew each of their essences through the power cords, until…

Vampires swarmed the area, each trying to be the first into the narrow alley. Fortunately, Faith had chosen well. At most, three vamps stood side by side. They had no way to flank the Slayer and witch. "Come and get me, boys," Faith taunted, crouched and ready.

The trio looked at each other, confused, before charging en masse. The first went down instantly, speared in the throat by the metal bar. The other two took longer. Dodging a wild right, the Slayer slammed her other weapon into a stomach and caught the third in the chin with a wicked scissor kick. No matter her skill, these three were still in the game. She didn't have the right tools to dust or decapitate them. As the first vamp climbed slowly to his feet, Faith moved a step back, running into Tara. "Shoulda maybe stopped for a weapons upgrade, Blondie."

"Make sure to remember next time, Slayer," the blonde fired back.

Ducking a round of blows from her rebounding attackers, Faith didn't reply at once. This time, she didn't waste time or energy. A strong kick sent one vamp flying into the line of demons waiting at the alley entrance. "Fuck! T, I don't think there's going to be a next time." She grunted and went to a knee, rocked by a series of punches from Vamp Number Two. Shaking her head, the Slayer pushed off the ground, but was too slow. She never even saw the kick that caught her in the temple. The world flickered in and out. Dimly, Faith heard Tara scream. She wanted to apologize for not being good enough to protect the witch, but the words didn't form. A feeling of despair engulfed her, and she gave in to the darkness. Right before she closed her eyes, she thought she saw blue fire burning a path through the vampire army.


	30. Chapter 30

Willow glanced around the empty streets of downtown Sunnydale. The marquee of the movie flickered on and off. She gripped her Slayer's hand tightly. "Can you sense them?"

"Yeah. Give me a second to find them." Buffy closed her eyes, reaching along her long-unused bond with Faith. "They're close. I think," she frowned, "we need to hurry."

"No, wait!" The redhead grabbed her girlfriend. "You don't have any weapons. Tell me where they are. I can use my magic to help out until you can join us." At the blonde's stubborn look, Willow pulled out her "Resolve Face." "Don't argue, Slayer, just do it. The longer you take, the more danger they may be in."

Hazel eyes snapping with anger, Buffy nodded curtly. "Mom, you're with me. Don't be a hero, Wills. Just help out. If you die, I'll kill you."

It was hard to let that comment pass, but the witch contented herself with rolling her eyes. "Right. Got it. No heroics. Where are they?"

"Couple of blocks behind the movie theatre. There's a dead-end alley. If I was gonna be fighting a horde of demons on my own, I'd head there."

"OK." Kissing the Slayer quickly, Willow sprinted off.

Watching her girlfriend run in search of Faith and Tara, Buffy ground her teeth. This was so not the way it was supposed to work.

"Buffy, honey, don't you think we should head for the house and pick up some weapons?" Joyce's voice interrupted her internal bitching.

"Too far. We'll hit the sporting goods store by the Pump." Dragging her attention back to the task at hand, she grabbed the older woman by the arm and took off. By the time they reached the storefront, Joyce was gasping for air. "Stay here, Mom. I'll get what we need." Stepping up to the door, Buffy tore the metal and glass frame off the hinges with one powerful kick. An eerie sense of déjà vu wound through her. It was so strong, the Slayer looked to her right, expecting to see a leather-clad Faith egging her on. No one was there. Trotting straight for the hunting supplies, Buffy grabbed two crossbows, several dozen wooden bolts, and as many knives as she could carry. Staggering back out, she thrust one of the crossbows at her mother. "Can you use one of these?"

Joyce shrugged. "I don't think I'm an expert, but I understand the concept."

"Good. I'm going on ahead. Stay back from the fighting."

"Buffy-" The older Summers stopped. Her daughter was already down the block, moving with full Slayer speed. Joyce shouldered her weapon and jogged after her.

Willow rounded the corner into the alley and slid to a panting halt. Demons and vampires clogged the narrow space, shouting encouragement to those at the front of the line. The young witch was too short to see the action, but she reached out, trying to locate Tara. The older girl's mind was hard to reach. A wall surrounded her magical reserves. Luckily, their joint spells had built a strong link between the two witches. She brushed Tara's mind, needing information. Although the response was faint and sluggish, Willow got what she needed. Faith was about to go down.

There was no thought of finesse. The redhead pulled every bit of energy she could find from the natural energies around her. Frowning, she realized it wouldn't be enough. She brushed Tara's mind again, asking for help. The barrier kept the older witch from using her magic, but Willow thought she might be able to go around the wall. The magic locking away the blonde's power had been created to withstand internal tampering. Willow simply reached over the wall and pulled from the large pool of energy. When her body felt as if it would come apart from the buildup, she released it at the gathered demons in bursts of blue flames. Dozens of them disappeared.

The redhead wasn't used to expending this amount of power. She staggered, barely managing to fling the next wave of destruction. Although she had eliminated almost half of the demon army, the witch could see Faith was down. Tara still couldn't reach her magic. Willow swallowed hard, watching the demons turn toward her. Buffy was going to kill her.

Luckily for the redhead, her girlfriend was too busy trying save her life to be concerned with her failure to avoid the forbidden heroics. Buffy slammed a bolt home as she ran. She had knives stuffed in her waistband, but figured long distance killing was a better bet. The Slayer aimed and fired at the first demon with the nerve to move on Willow. It dropped to the ground, screaming. Two more bolts dusted the vamps staring at their downed comrade. "Will, move out of the way!"

Responding to the command, the witch stumbled back toward the alley's entrance. Buffy sprinted by her, taking on the next wave of demons without slowing. She used the crossbow like a bat, swinging and connecting with a demon's head. It went down, only to be replaced by another. Knives in both hands, the Slayer ducked blows and dodged kicks, stabbing and beheading in a flurry of shining steel. On the outer edges of awareness, she saw vamps turning to dust as crossbow bolts landed in their chests. Joyce had joined the fray. Fatigue dragged at her, but she fought on until the alley was littered with bodies and piles of vamp remains.

There were only a handful of vamps left. Buffy forced herself to stand erect, denying aches from blows she hadn't been able to avoid. Smiling viciously, she taunted, "What, you thought there was only one Slayer? Shame on you for not doing your homework." Twirling a knife in her hand as if it were Mr. Pointy, the Slayer continued, "You going to stand there all night? Let's finish this."

The demons didn't take the bait. Instead, they seemed to waver and then vanished. The alley faded out as well. A desert landscape stretched around the five Scoobies. Faith was still unconscious, and the three newcomers gathered around her downed form. "Tara? Can you tell what's wrong?" Joyce asked.

Frowning, the blonde witch nodded. "Yeah. Concussion, probably. The magical barrier is gone. I'm going to try healing her as best I can."

"I'm afraid you will not be allowed to do that," a new voice commented. A bearded man slid down one of the dunes, watching them intently. "Her fate has not yet been decided. The final trial was never completed."

"Are you out of your fucking mind?" Buffy shouted.

"No, Slayer, I am not." The man regarded her sternly. "Because of your interference in the quest, Faith's choices were not made without influence. The First Slayer and the Powers That Be are not convinced she has changed."

Tara looked up, tears streaking her face. Her healing had been deflected. "How can you do this? Of course she's changed. She came back and helped us with Adam, and she passed the other tests. She's ready to be part of the team; she understands she has a place with us."

"Does she?" came the dispassionate voice. "Only your warding stopped her from fleeing the very team you claim she has rejoined."

"She's scared," the witch retorted. "She's never had anyone to love or to love her. You have to let her learn what it means before you judge." Not caring that her actions were probably fruitless, Tara opened herself fully, readying every last bit of power at her disposal. She would _not_ let them take Faith without a fight.

Willow felt what her mentor had done, and nodded. The older girl was right. They'd all been guilty of rushing to judgment where Faith was concerned. The change in the Dark Slayer was amazing, and the redhead knew she deserved this second chance. Moving until she stood next to Tara, she placed a calming hand on the witch's shoulder. Pulling in the last dregs of power, she sent it all through their link. "Hope you are ready for a fight, then."

A bushy eyebrow climbed toward the man's hairline. "Your lives mean little in this battle."

"Wrong thing to say, pal." Buffy glared at the interloper. "Now, I'm betting you think Tara and Willow don't matter because they aren't Slayers. I am. How happy are the PTB's gonna be when you have to kill me too?" Joining the other three, she smiled at her girlfriend. "Take whatever energy you need, baby. No way do they get my sister Slayer without a whole lot of pain."

Brown eyes glared at the blonde girl. "You will not be allowed to interfere in this. Faith must make her own choices, complete the quest on her own. If she fails, she will die. A Slayer cannot be permitted to unbalance the scales of Good and Evil."

"Listen to yourself," Joyce said. She, too, took up a position near the downed Slayer. "She's already passed her test. A year ago, she lost her way, yes. She chose to join the other side of the fight. Where were you and your tests then? You let her lose everything, nearly her life. Why didn't you end it there?"

The question threw the man. "It was not the time," he finally offered.

"Why not? She was already vulnerable." Joyce wasn't backing down.

"We are not going to discuss this further." Eyes flashing, he advanced a few steps. "Move away from her, all of you. We do not wish to harm you. Your service to our cause has been above reproach."

"The hell it has," Buffy snapped. "I quit rather than fight the Master. I let Jenny and Kendra die because I couldn't kill Angelus. Faith turned away because I didn't accept my role in Finch's death." She glanced down at the other Slayer, lost in painful memories. "I tried to kill my own sister Slayer."

"Those were deemed acceptable mistakes."

Only Joyce's grip on her arm kept the blonde Slayer from charging the irritating man. "Don't bother, honey. He's already made his decision."

"That is true. We have. Step aside."

The standoff continued until Tara spoke up. "You won't hurt us, even to get to Faith."

"We can, and we will," came the cold reply.

"No, you won't." Tara smiled. "You can't. The four of us standing here are a huge part of the forces on the Good side of the scale. If you kill us, _you_ will be guilty of unbalancing the fight."

Brown eyes glared at her impotently.

"Will, we are going to dissolve the dream spell," the blonde witch commented quietly.

"We are?" the redhead asked. Then, trying again, she said more firmly, "Yeah, we are. Um, how?"

"I'll unravel the original incantation. You'll need to feed me power in a steady stream." Blue eyes looked at the blonde Slayer. "Will you lend us a little strength as well?"

"Anything you need," Buffy promised.

Tara looked at the brown-haired man one last time. "Understand that we will protect her if you try this again. She _is_ one of us. And we protect our own." She turned back to the Scoobies. "We all need to be touching for this to work." After a little rearranging, all of the women were in contact. "OK, Will, start the feed."

The redhead began draining her reserves, sending the energy through a conduit she'd erected between them. Flushed with the borrowed magic, Tara closed her eyes, seeing the layers of the dream spell with her inner site. It was a complex spell, woven with great power. But, like all magic, it had weaknesses. After a minute of searching, she found a loose thread and grasped it with invisible hands. Drawing the thread to her she watched the fabric of the magic unravel…

Tara opened her eyes with a pained gasp. Her head throbbed in reaction to overextending her magic. Faith lay next to her, face lined in pain, too. "Sweetie? Come on, wake up." She rocked the brunette as gently as possible.

"Will she be alright, do you think?" Giles inquired.

The blonde witch hadn't even noticed his presence. She blushed. Giles wasn't alone. _All_ of the Scoobies ringed the bed. "I th-think so," she stuttered.

"You think what, T?" a rough voice interrupted. Faith blinked, trying to focus on her witch. "Damn, Blondie. You get all butch and I don't remember it?" She rubbed her forehead.

"Faith!" Tara hissed. "We have company."

"Tell B we ain't interested in holding a 'how to' clinic right now," Faith mumbled. The Scoobies' laughter alerted her to the crowd. "Ah, hell. What happened to the warding? Can anybody just walk in here?"

"Sorry, dear," Joyce said, smiling at the grumpy teen. "We'll leave you two alone in just a minute, I promise. We have a few questions, first, though."

Though unwilling to talk about it, Faith did remember the vision quest. She owed the gang answers to whatever questions they wanted to ask. Moving so she could look at each of the people in the room, she nodded. "Ask away."

Joyce smiled. Faith looked ready for a firing squad. "Me, first. I chose my scene deliberately. You turned me down the first time. Will you say no again?"

Raising hesitant brown eyes, Faith replied, "Things are different now, Mrs. S. I got the police hunting me. You want to harbor a fugitive?"

"No, my dear, she doesn't," Giles interrupted. "Willow and I will start looking at the evidence the police have. I believe they are working with circumstantial proof at best."

"Red?" The brunette Slayer wanted confirmation. She still felt uncomfortable with the redhead.

Green eyes gazed at the other girl for a long minute. "I've already got a program in mind for hacking into the police mainframe. If you're willing to stay with Mrs. Summers and let Giles act as your Watcher, you've got my help."

A tear traced its way down the pale cheek. "Looks like you got a new houseguest, Mrs. S."

"If that's the role you want, Faith, but Rupert and I seem to have adopted the rest of this motley crew. Would you mind very much if we considered you another daughter?"

Faith couldn't get words passed the lump in her throat, but she shook her head energetically.

"Well, then, it's settled." Buffy grinned evilly. "I always wanted a little sister, Faith. Now Mom can harass someone else. I can't wait to see the argument over enrolling you at the new Sunnydale High."


End file.
